"Snake-catching brat, you dare run wild in the Pei manor? Do you have a death wish?!"
Pei Jing was beside himself with rage. He surged out of the muddy water with a thunderous roar as yuan qi surged behind him, giving rise to four cave-heavens that distorted the sky. His yuan qi billowed to the heavens, even outstripping Xu Ying's own.
"Pei Jing, wait!"
The other three young masters also leaped from the water and surrounded Xu Ying. One noble youth in purple robes shook his yuan qi, blasting the mud and water from his clothes, and called out, "He's precious. We can't kill him. Don't forget what we came here for—the medicine of longevity!"
Another young master dressed in red agreed, "That's right! If he dies, there goes our longevity medicine!"
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow, an inexplicable fury flaring in his chest.
*Longevity medicine?*
*What do these people take me for? A miraculous pill that grants immortality upon consumption?*
"Ah Ying, their demand for snake tricks was just a pretext," the bronze bell said solemnly. "They only wanted to provoke you into fighting back so they'd have an excuse to turn you into a great medicine of longevity! But who could have leaked the secret that you might be an immortal person? Could it be that old fellow Pei Du? Is he playing both sides?"
Xu Ying's heart sank. If it really was Pei Du, matters would be exceedingly grim.
This was the Pei manor. If Pei Du decided to keep him here, the clan might even mobilize the human-skin skeletons of their ancestral Nuo immortals!
Against such power and deep foundations, even if the bronze bell were in its prime, bringing Xu Ying out alive would be a monumental feat.
Could Pei Du truly be two-faced—promising to help conceal Xu Ying's secret on the surface while quietly spreading word behind his back that Xu Ying was an immortal person?
Perhaps his entire aim was to trap Xu Ying in the Pei manor and refine him into a great longevity medicine!
With Xu Ying as his longevity elixir, he could control the other great clans and force them to do his bidding.
"Ah Ying, fear not. I shall avenge you!" the bronze bell declared with righteous grandeur. "Once I fight my way through the encirclement, I'll find a clever young boy and become his grandfatherly mentor, cultivating him into a peerless expert to storm the Pei manor. That way, you can rest in peace in the Nine Springs!"
Xu Ying gave a low grunt and murmured, "Judging by Pei Du's bearing, he is a man of grand ambition. It hardly seems in his character to stoop to such petty schemes."
Yuan Qi shrank his body and dropped back onto Xu Ying's shoulder. "You can know a man's face, but not his heart! Oh, by the way, Ah Ying, will eating your flesh really grant longevity? Next time you trim your fingernails, don't throw the clippings away. Let me boil them into a jelly to have a taste. And does eating your hair have the same effect?"
The bronze bell retorted in disgust, "Look at your pathetic ambitions! Ah Ying has opened his Mud Pill secret depository and stirred the vitality of his flesh. Just have him slice off a piece of meat for you to sample—it'll grow back anyway!"
Yuan Qi's eyes lit up with delight. "Oh, wouldn't that be imposing on him?"
Yet from the look on his face, he had no qualms whatsoever; the moment Xu Ying nodded, he would take a bite on the spot to see how it tasted.
The young master in purple stared at Xu Ying and said coolly, "My surname is Li. I hail from the imperial palace."
Xu Ying immediately assumed an expression of solemn reverence. "Are you a eunuch? Did Eunuch Chen perform your castration? Did it hurt?"
The purple-robed noble flew into a rage. Beside him, an oily, plump young master sneered, "Ignorant wretch! This is Prince Li Zhaolou of the imperial court! How dare a commoner like you not drop to your knees in worship?!"
Xu Ying shook his head. "'Your stipends and your salaries are the people's marrow and grease; heaven is easily deceived, but the common people are hard to torment.' I am merely a peasant. I wouldn't even bow before your old man, so why should I bow to you?"
Hearing this, Yuan Qi corrected him at once, "Ah Ying, the saying goes, 'The common people are easily tormented, but heaven is hard to deceive.' Though your words make sense too! These fellows deceive heaven and torment the commoners, yet no divine punishment ever falls upon them—they just drive the people to rebellion! Speaking of which, heaven truly is easily deceived, and the people are hard to torment. If you torment the people, they'll rebel and kill your mother!"
"Traitors! Both of you!" the gathered young masters shouted in fury.
Pei Jing stepped forward with a cold sneer. "Heaven sends down calamity? How much do you wretched commoners sacrifice to heaven each year? Does it even amount to a tenth of what our noble clans offer? Even the Lord of Heaven eats our food, takes our goods, and uses our treasures! How would heaven dare strike us with disaster?!"
He lunged forward to seize Xu Ying, his voice trembling with excitement. "When Granduncle told me to take men to the archival cave and look for records regarding an immortal person, I kept my wits about me. You truly are an immortal person! If we capture you and refine a longevity medicine, the clan elders will be overjoyed! And if we present you to the Emperor, my Pei clan will have accomplished unmatched merit!"
Xu Ying casually waved his hand, and the surroundings instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness. Stars glittered within the gloom, shifting across the firmament in tandem with the movement of his palm strike!
The fourth move of the Rhapsody of the Azure Heavens: Stars Parting the Azure Heavens!
Pei Jing was trapped in darkness. Though bright daylight shone only tens of paces away, he could see nothing at all. He took a sharp breath in surprise. "The Guo clan's Nuo arts?!"
As Xu Ying's palm strike descended, Pei Jing pushed his cultivation to its peak and met the blow head-on, sneering, "In terms of cultivation, no one can rival my Pei clan!"
The instant their palms collided, the yuan qi within Xu Ying suddenly reversed. Night inverted into day, and the azure sky arched downward like an immense, crystalline mirror, utterly bottomless, completely neutralizing his opponent's seemingly invincible power!
The third move of the Rhapsody of the Azure Heavens: Form Reflecting the Radiant Mirror!
The essence of this technique lay in expanding one's physical form to encompass the vastness of the sky, absorbing all forces to dismantle an enemy's fiercest assault!
Pei Jing felt his boundless power strike sheer emptiness, as though he had delivered a devastating punch to his own chest. His blood churned violently from the shock.
Xu Ying transformed Form Reflecting the Radiant Mirror into Nine Wilds Unfurling in Circumference. A green expanse spread in all directions beneath his feet, while an azure vault arched overhead like a giant canopy.
His right hand shifted through nine forward and reverse variations, unleashing nine consecutive palm seals, each striking Pei Jing squarely upon the chest. A single misstep had left Pei Jing wide open, and under the barrage of nine heavy impacts, his ribs caved in one after another, shattering inward and piercing his internal organs!
Spitting blood, Pei Jing skimmed backward over the lake's surface.
*Bang!*
His skull smashed into the wall on the opposite shore, embedding itself deeply within the masonry. Only his two legs remained outside, twitching intermittently.
Suddenly, Xu Ying sensed others approaching. Glancing around, he saw several austere, ancient-looking elders walking over from different directions. His heart skipped a beat. Realizing that the Pei clan elders had mobilized in person and that Pei Du had likely betrayed him, he was trapped with no escape. A savage fury surged within him. "Seventh Master! I'm going to kill them!"
He had held back until now, refusing to strike to kill, but at this moment he could no longer suppress his murderous intent.
Hearing his words, Yuan Qi trembled from head to tail, his scales standing on end—whether it was the ancient bloodline being stirred by Xu Ying's invocation or his own blood awakening!
A feral bloodlust rose in the snake as well. He could hardly wait to unleash his boundless yuan qi and slaughter their foes!
Li Zhaolou and the others attacked simultaneously. Li Zhaolou belonged to the Li clan and cultivated the Li clan's Jade Capital secret depository. The moment he struck, true dragon yuan qi surged, summoning a true dragon descending from the heavens in majestic splendor.
The other two youths were members of the Pei clan, and both possessed skills that surpassed Pei Jing's.
Yet the moment their strikes unleashed, a hundred-zhang serpent swept its massive form across the air, instantly crushing the true dragon. Sword qi swirled around its body like a snowstorm, shredding their Nuo arts and divine powers to pieces!
The trio staggered back. One of the Pei youths raised his hands violently, lifting the entire surface of the lake with his immense yuan qi to submerge Yuan Qi beneath the water, attempting to smother the serpent's sword qi and massive bulk.
Gaining a moment of respite, Li Zhaolou rallied his true dragon yuan qi and bellowed, "You think a strange snake can match a true dragon?! Kneel and meet your doom before the dragon!"
A cerulean true dragon descended from the sky, its girth every bit as massive as Yuan Qi's.
The other Pei clan youth cried out excitedly, "Capture him! His Majesty will become an immortal emperor, our realm will endure forever, and our Pei clan will be an eternal clan!"
Xu Ying struck out with a seal. The clear sky trembled as tribulation clouds surged, lightning darting wildly within them. In an instant, a tribulation cloud spanning tens of paces formed, brimming with terrifying might, and blew the cerulean dragon apart!
The dragon's flesh, bones, and sinew shattered into pieces. Li Zhaolou coughed up a huge mouthful of blood before Xu Ying's seal came down on the crown of his head. With a sickening crunch, his head was driven straight down into his ribcage!
"Turn me into longevity medicine?!"
Seeing another youth's divine power rushing toward him, Xu Ying did not dodge. Instead, sword qi swirled around his frame as he rose with his flying sword and charged straight through the incoming technique, sneering, "Survive this first!"
A ceaseless flurry of ripping sounds rang out as the youth, along with his divine power, was shredded to pieces by Xu Ying's swirling sword qi!
The last plump Pei youth exerted every ounce of his strength, retreating dozens of paces to fend off the barrage of sword qi. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the hundred-zhang serpent swept its tail across the air. The tip lashed into his body with an explosive sonic boom, pounding him into a bloody pulp against the wall across the lake. He was clearly beyond saving.
Yuan Qi rapidly shrank in size, coiled once through the air, and landed back on Xu Ying's shoulder, glaring tensely at the ancient Pei clan elders closing in from all directions.
The elders bore solemn expressions, but their eyes flickered with intense, feverish excitement. Even as Xu Ying slaughtered their clan members right before their eyes, none of them moved to intervene.
"A great medicine of longevity..."
One of the Pei elders swallowed hard, his gaze fixed hungrily upon Xu Ying.
Xu Ying drew a long, deep breath and whispered, "Lord Bell, if an opening presents itself, take Seventh Master and get out of here. Don't bother finding another youth to avenge me—just raise Seventh Master so he can wash the Pei manor in blood in the future!"
The bronze bell replied lazily, "A mere Pei manor cannot hold me. Forget about bringing along this stinking snake—what does it matter if I take you with me too? At most, I'll need a few months to nurse my wounds. I can handle it."
It gathered its inner power in secret, ready to unleash a slaughter at any moment.
Just then, an authoritative voice rang out. "Stop."
The voice was calm and even, yet it reached everyone's ears with crystal clarity, rumbling like rolling thunder and striking their souls. Every person involuntarily halted their steps.
Xu Ying followed the sound and saw Chancellor Pei Du walking forward, his expression dark as still water, showing neither joy nor fury.
Xu Ying remained on high alert, refusing to let his guard down in the slightest.
Chancellor Pei Du looked toward Prince Li Zhaolou's corpse lying in the mud, his eyelid twitching slightly. He then glanced at the corpses of the two Pei youths before finally sweeping his gaze across the elders.
He saw the raw, burning desire in their eyes.
"Bring the Second Young Master here," Pei Du instructed, his voice as flat as a stagnant well.
Servants hurried to the opposite shore and carefully pulled Second Young Master Pei Jing out of the wall, carrying him over to Pei Du. Countless bones in Pei Jing's body were shattered, and his face was covered in blood. Seeing Pei Du, he cried out in relief and sobbed, "Clan Leader, you must avenge me! This wild brat injured our people and wrecked the Pei manor—"
Pei Du unbuckled the jade belt at his waist and whipped it viciously across Pei Jing's face like a lash.
Pei Jing let out a bloodcurdling scream as the blow tore his skin to bloody ribbons.
*Crack!*
Pei Du struck him again. He raised his arm and brought the belt down repeatedly, delivering strike after savage strike. Pei Jing had enough strength to scream at first, but his cries grew weaker and weaker until he could no longer make a sound.
"Clan Leader!"
Pei Jingting came rushing over and pleaded, "Clan Leader, stop! If you keep beating him, you'll kill him! Heavens, what on earth happened here?!"
Pei Du finally stopped. Pei Jing was already beaten into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp.
Around them, the Pei clan elders looked shaken, though none dared speak. Pei Jingting stepped forward and caught sight of Prince Li Zhaolou's corpse. Shivering in terror, he stammered, "What... what do we do now?"
Pei Du tossed aside the blood-soaked jade belt and said expressionlessly, "An account must be given for this matter. As of today, Pei Jing is no longer a child of the Pei clan. None of his actions have anything to do with our house. Driven mad, Pei Jing murdered Prince Li Zhaolou and slew two youths of our Pei clan. Hand him over to the Court of Judicial Review for investigation. I shall enter the palace myself to confess my negligence and seek His Majesty's punishment."
His hollow gaze turned toward Pei Jingting. "As for your business, we will discuss it after I return."
Pei Jingting shuddered, keeping his head low, not daring to utter a single word.
Pei Du swept his cold gaze across the assembled elders and said chillingly, "I am still the master of this clan! Who among you dares to usurp my authority?!"
One of the elders rasped softly, "Clan Leader, we are old... We don't have many years left to live..."
Pei Du replied grimly, "Our ancestors could die, yet you cannot? When our Pei clan's ancestors were devoured by ancient evils, does that mean you must turn to eating people as well?!"
The elder fell silent.
Pei Du snapped his sleeve and commanded in a frigid tone, "Starting today, the Pei manor is sealed. No one is permitted to leave! Anyone who steps outside without authorization will be executed on the spot!"
Where his sleeve swept, a wisp of light gauze drifted upward, rising high into the sky before bursting apart. It transformed into a veil of blue smoke that drifted down on all sides, shrouding the entire Pei manor.
Pei Du turned to Xu Ying. "Brother Xu, please come with me."
Though he maintained an outward calm, his steps were hurried. Xu Ying followed closely behind him, occasionally jogging to keep up.
"The Pei manor is not of one mind; I cannot hold them back for long," Pei Du said quickly as he ordered a carriage readied. "The temptation of longevity is simply too great, and with someone fanning the flames from the shadows, some of these elders won't be able to resist making a move against you. When I enter the palace to meet the Emperor, I will certainly be detained there. Though I won't be put to death, I will not be allowed to leave. The Pei manor is unsafe, and the Yuan manor likely isn't safe either. I will take you to the Guo manor!"
Xu Ying boarded the carriage with him. The carriage promptly sped out of the Pei manor and dashed toward the Guo manor.
Pei Du said with a look of guilt, "Since word has already spread within the Pei manor, it won't be long before the other noble clans hear of it. In all of Shendu, the only one who can resist the temptation of longevity is likely that venerable figure in the Guo family. The Guo manor will be safer than anywhere else."
Xu Ying met his gaze and asked, "Does Chancellor Pei not wish to turn me into a great longevity medicine?"
Pei Du replied, "If you truly are that immortal person, then from ancient times to the present, countless people have tried to turn you into a longevity medicine. Countless factions far more powerful than my Pei clan have sought to do so. And where are they now? I see none of them today; all I see is you, sitting hale and hearty before me."
Xu Ying sighed, looking out the carriage window, and said softly, "I do not even know who I really am."
Within his mind, that gentle voice echoed unbidden once more:
*"...Xu Ying, Xu Ying. Remember your surname; do not ever forget your given name..."*
Chapter 98