"Sigh. We've been rooted here for over a century, yet the information we've sent out has been so sparse," Aunt Liu said with an involuntary trace of disappointment.
They had embedded themselves deep in the fallen territories for the sole purpose of gathering intelligence and passing it along to the Ancient Gods.
Unfortunately, over all these years, the news they managed to send had been meager at best.
Yet so many of their sisters had died.
It made Aunt Liu question from time to time whether what they were doing was truly worth it.
"Aunt Liu, no matter the outcome, we only need to do our part well.
"All we need to do is pass along intelligence. Slaying the evil gods can be left to those esteemed lords!" Xiao Xing said resolutely.
Aunt Liu smiled helplessly. "It's just that after living in the fallen territories for hundreds of years, not only has the situation failed to improve, it's grown increasingly decadent and chaotic. I was only lamenting a little, that's all."
The two talked for a moment. Once Aunt Liu finished giving her instructions, Xiao Xing carried her suona and headed to the private room where Qi Yuan was.
Xiao Xing's face was painted with curiosity.
After all, coming to an establishment like theirs to listen to a suona was unheard of.
"Are the two esteemed guests certain you wish to hear the suona?" Xiao Xing asked cautiously.
"Mm." Qi Yuan swept his eyes over Xiao Xing.
His gaze drifted to an evil god sitting out in the main hall.
That evil god had concealed his aura, eyes half-squinted, seemingly plotting something.
On that evil god's person was a supreme treasure formed from the divine spiritual power of the Holy Mother of Inedia.
The somber, desolate notes of the suona resonated at that moment.
Zhu Zhuangshi glanced toward the evil god lurking in the hall with concealed identity and aura, transmitting his voice: "My lord, shall we strike?"
Qi Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at Xiao Xing's pure, bright face.
"Why drag these poor NPCs into it?" Qi Yuan said.
From the moment he stepped into the pavilion, his Stellar Golden Core had been subtly affecting everyone around them every second.
Aside from Aunt Liu and Xiao Xing, no one else even knew that Qi Yuan had entered the building.
Zhu Zhuangshi showed a look of shame. "Old Zhu here was too rash."
"It's fine. We'll have plenty of chances. Once this suona tune finishes, we'll get down to business."
Inside the pleasure quarter, Qi Yuan leisurely sipped his tea, savoring the melody of the suona.
Xiao Xing seemed to catch the mood. Not only did she play, but she also began swaying and dancing to the rhythm.
Her dance was seductive, strikingly enchanting.
Beneath the plaintive wail of the suona, the young woman's swaying figure seemed almost like the quintessential backdrop of the Mortal Heart Realm.
Meanwhile, atop a towering mountain outside Huaye City.
A look of astonishment crossed the face of the man in the golden-thread mask.
"Those people dared to strike against Feng and Lin Countries, slaughtering several dozen New Gods?"
Upon learning this news, the man in the golden-thread mask was truly shocked.
He had just traded blows with that group earlier.
To preserve his own strength and avoid unexpected accidents, he had chosen to bide his time and hadn't actually pursued them.
He had assumed those people would know when to quit while they were ahead.
Who could have guessed that they would be so audaciously bold as to directly slaughter the New Gods of both Feng and Lin Countries?
This was forcing the military encampments to act.
"Encampment Commander, now that Feng and Lin Countries face a crisis, should we dispatch troops to reinforce them?" his deputy asked cautiously.
"Dispatch troops? Would we even make it in time?" The man in the golden-thread mask shook his head.
Hearing this, the deputy nodded. Thinking of something, he added, "Great Venerable Yangtai just sent a transmission saying that we are the closest, ordering us to move out first and encircle those rebellious Ancient Gods."
The man in the golden-thread mask shook his head again. "Pay it no heed. Until the allied forces assemble, I will not make a move.
"Otherwise, the ones dying will be my subordinates, while the credit gets divided among everyone. Where in this world is there such a good deal!
"Besides, those few Ancient Gods are turtles trapped in a jar—they can't escape anyway. There's no rush."
The man in the golden-thread mask held victory firmly in his grasp.
This Mortal Heart Realm would belong to the New Gods sooner or later.
No matter how wildly the enemy danced, it was nothing more than deathbed struggles.
The overall situation was settled. What he needed to do was preserve his strength to maximize his own benefits.
"Let them live one more day," the man in the golden-thread mask remarked breezily.
"As you command."
"Mm. How is the investigation into the Holy Mother of Inedia Cult coming along?" the man in the golden-thread mask asked.
In the fallen territories, quite a few cultists of the Holy Mother of Inedia remained hidden in the shadows.
"At present, Red Leaf Tower is under the heaviest suspicion. A True God has already gone to investigate," the deputy replied.
"Why bother with so much trouble? If they're suspicious, just exterminate them outright.
"This is the Mortal Heart Realm. These subjects are nothing more than expendable supplies," the man in the golden-thread mask said.
"Understood!" the deputy answered hurriedly.
Meanwhile, Qi Yuan listened to the suona and watched the young woman dance, finding it quite enjoyable.
"No wonder so many people love going to high-end lounges. It truly is... refined!" Qi Yuan marveled.
Yet no sooner had he voiced his praise than the door was shoved open.
Aunt Liu hurried inside, an apologetic look on her face.
"Guests, Red Leaf Tower has an urgent situation. I must take Xiao Xing away!" Aunt Liu was desperate.
She had just received word that an evil god was about to move against Red Leaf Tower.
She had to evacuate the Holy Mother of Inedia Cultists immediately.
Otherwise, they would all die here.
And die horribly.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan waved his hand, and Aunt Liu's body was instantly frozen in place.
"Happy times are always fleeting.
"Xiao Xing, don't rush. Finish playing this suona tune, and the binding on her will unravel."
Without the suona playing, Qi Yuan felt it wouldn't match the grand deed he was about to perform.
Xiao Xing's face showed sheer terror, but following Qi Yuan's instructions, she continued to play her suona.
"Let's go, time for business," Qi Yuan said, transforming into a streak of light alongside Zhu Zhuangshi and vanishing.
In the air, only a few whispered voices lingered.
"My lord, it seems we didn't pay!"
"Mm... do you have money?"
"...No."
"It's fine. We only came to have a heart-to-heart chat with the young lady. It doesn't count as soliciting, so no payment is needed, and we don't have to worry about ending up in the police station.
"If the police ask, just say we came to buy old mobile phones from the lady."
"???"
At that moment, the notes of the suona still drifted through the room. Xiao Xing looked at Aunt Liu in sheer panic.
"Aunt Liu, what happened?" She tried numerous methods, yet none could free Aunt Liu from her restraint.
"A True God... that was definitely a True God!" Aunt Liu was equally anxious.
This restriction was undoubtedly placed by a True God.
How could a mere Purple Mansion cultivator like her break free?
She had never imagined those two were actually True Gods.
What were two True Gods doing at Red Leaf Tower?
Whether they were friend or foe, Aunt Liu had no way of knowing.
"Sigh, Xiao Xing, why don't you stop playing and leave me be?
"An evil god is about to strike at Red Leaf Tower. If you don't run now, it will be too late," Aunt Liu urged.
To finish this piece would take at least a hundred breaths.
In a hundred breaths, far too much could happen.
"No! Aunt Liu treats me like a mother. How could I abandon you to flee alone?
"That esteemed lord said the binding would unravel once the piece is finished. Almost there!" Xiao Xing blew into her suona with all her might, steadying her composure.
Yet right at that moment.
All of a sudden.
A terrifying clap of thunder abruptly exploded.
*Rumble! Boom!*
The earth shuddered violently.
Endless violet radiance flashed continuously.
The entire city of Huaye—and indeed the surrounding land for a thousand li—seemed drowned beneath an ocean of purple.
The whole world turned violet.
Xiao Xing's long skirt was dyed violet by the gleam, her face filled with shock and bewilderment.
The ground quaked so hard that the wine bottles and teacups on the table tumbled off, shattering to pieces.
Truly: the Taiyin thunderclaps resounded, cloaking ten thousand li of mountains and rivers in brilliant purple.
"What was that?"
"What happened?"
"Are True Gods clashing?"
Cultivators inside Red Leaf Tower took flight one after another.
The cultivators throughout Huaye City also turned their eyes toward the direction of the sound.
Still blowing her suona, Xiao Xing pushed open the window and looked into the distance.
Her eyes instantly went wide with shock.
"What is it? Where did something happen?" Aunt Liu asked anxiously from behind her.
"It's... Mount Wuqiong. Mount Wuqiong is... gone!" Xiao Xing stared, her eyes overflowing with disbelief.
"What? Mount Wuqiong is gone? How is that possible!" Aunt Liu was utterly shaken.
Mount Wuqiong housed an evil god military encampment, guarded by a Great Venerable and hundreds of evil gods.
Such an evil god encampment was... gone?
Completely obliterated by a single bolt of lightning!
Had some supreme expert made a move?
Aunt Liu was burning with impatience, wishing her binding would dissolve right away so she could see for herself what had become of Mount Wuqiong.
"This must be the handiwork of a Great Venerable specializing in lightning arts, at Five Steps of Sky Treading—or perhaps even Six Steps!
"Only such power could level Mount Wuqiong in a single blow!"
Aunt Liu trembled with excitement, her eyes moistening.
After all these years, she had finally witnessed the imperial host striking back against the evil gods!
How could she not be thrilled?
"Just who could it be!" Aunt Liu marveled.
Xiao Xing felt the same.
She blew the suona with a desolate timbre, laughing through her tears.
Right at that moment, a lazy voice drifted across Huaye City.
"Puny evil god, where do you think you're running?"
High in the heavens, a strikingly handsome man clad in green robes stood with hair flowing like a cascade, a blood-red longsword strapped across his back.
The violet radiance had yet to dissipate, settling upon the green-robed youth and plating his robes in shimmering purple.
Standing in the void, he looked incomparably noble, like a Youthful Heavenly Emperor.
The body of an evil god hung frozen in midair, trapped firmly inside Zhu Zhuangshi's rudimentary Divine Domain.
His divine apertures were grinding to a halt, entirely unable to muster divine spiritual power.
He stared at Qi Yuan, eyes filled with sheer terror.
"Demon! You demon!"
"What did you use to destroy the encampment?!"
The evil god roared in terror, trembling uncontrollably, bewildered beyond measure.
That was Mount Wuqiong, the garrison of an entire True God encampment!
One Great Venerable, over sixty cultivators at Three Steps of Sky Treading, and more than three hundred True Gods.
In an instant, every single one of them had been drowned in the lightning.
Not a single True God had escaped—not even the Great Venerable.
Only because he had been sent out to investigate the Holy Mother of Inedia Cultists and was not in the camp had he escaped this catastrophe.
He truly could not comprehend it.
Qi Yuan looked down at the evil god, a smile spreading across his exceptionally handsome face, appearing breathtakingly otherworldly beneath the violet light.
"I'm here to... blast some fish."
Since wiping out the evil gods of Feng and Lin Countries would provoke the evil god encampments into launching a joint siege...
The easiest way to solve the problem was to exterminate the evil god encampment beforehand, wiping out any future trouble.
Thus, Qi Yuan had brought Zhu Zhuangshi to Huaye City and detonated the evil god encampment with a Taiyin Lightning Orb.
Back in the Ancestral Land, Qi Yuan had obtained a bottle of Taiyin Lightning Orbs.
Taiyin Lightning Orbs were meant for blasting fish.
Among them were eight powerful enough to blast Great Venerable-level fish.
This time, Qi Yuan had tossed one straight at Mount Wuqiong, restricting its radius and blowing the evil god encampment out of existence.
Not a single evil god had managed to flee.
"You, the fish that slipped through the net, ought to die as well."
Qi Yuan spoke softly. His longsword cleared its scabbard, and in an instant, it executed the evil god trapped inside the rudimentary Divine Domain.
Every cultivator in Huaye City who witnessed this was shaken to the core, their hearts roiling with excitement, dread, and wild awe.
Xiao Xing was stunned. Gazing up at the towering figure in the sky, her eyes reddened. "It's that guest... He was the one who wiped out Mount Wuqiong!"
She recalled what Aunt Liu had said: the guest was going to kill someone, and before killing, he wanted to hear the suona.
The ones he went to kill were the hundreds of evil gods atop Mount Wuqiong.
And the suona he listened to had been played by her own hands.
Her chest surged with excitement and a torrent of mixed emotions. Had she known earlier, she would have blown with far more passion and heart,
to truly do justice to the guest's slaughter of evil gods.
"Greetings, friends of Huaye City. I just came by to blast some fish.
"Those of you eating, carry on eating; those pursuing beauties, carry on pursuing them. Pay me no mind.
"Next time I drop by, I'll treat you all to a feast."
Qi Yuan's voice resonated through all of Huaye City.
With that, he and Zhu Zhuangshi turned into a streak of light and vanished.
There were other evil god encampments nearby; Qi Yuan had to hurry to blast more fish.
If he delayed and word got out, causing them to scatter in all directions, he would take a massive loss.
The figures in the sky disappeared, yet the violet glow still blanketed the entire city.
The shock lingering in the hearts of every citizen who heard his voice would not dissipate for a long time.
Today's events were something they would remember for the rest of their lives.
...
Qingshui Village.
Night fell.
Great Venerable Shenlei glared at the few Ancient Gods before him, anger boiling within him.
"You have some nerve, killing every last evil god in Feng and Lin Countries!"
Just moments ago, the Ancient Gods carrying out the plan to slaughter a hundred gods in a single day had returned one after another.
The moment Great Venerable Shenlei ran into them, he unleashed a barrage of scolding,
as if blaming them for failing to dissuade Qi Yuan.
The younger twin sister had always been quick-tempered, and she had no intention of enduring Shenlei's temper: "When his lordship returns, why don't you try dissuading him yourself!"
Dissuade him? They couldn't even if they tried.
Great Venerable Shenlei fumed with anxiety. "Why hasn't Qi Yuan returned yet? Where did he go?"
He was genuinely frantic.
At dusk, Venerable Huanghun had arrived with a contingent of True Gods to offer reinforcements.
Yet in the end, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of Qi Yuan.
Great Venerable Shenlei, Venerable Huanghun, and the others had spent half an hour deliberating.
Together, they formulated a plan: they would hold back the forces of the evil god encampments at any cost, while escorting Origin Celestial Venerable and the eight deities who had visualized Mythological God Visualization Arts safely into the North Sea God Eye.
They had already prepared to sacrifice their lives, waiting only for Qi Yuan to return.
Yet while all the other Ancient Gods had come back, Qi Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
How could Great Venerable Shenlei not be on edge?
"There is no need to worry. The divine lord has always been wise; he certainly would not let himself fall into peril," Ancient God Wangsong remarked.
Toward Qi Yuan, his trust was unconditional.
"If he doesn't return soon, what arrives at Feiwu City will probably be the entire evil god army!" Great Venerable Shenlei snapped in fury.
This Origin Celestial Venerable was simply too reckless, worrying him to death.
He had previously thought himself rash enough.
Yet compared to Qi Yuan, his actions couldn't even be called rash!
Qi Yuan's actions were the true definition of recklessness!
The moment he returned from the Ancestral Land, he went off to hunt Zhang Feng. After slaying Zhang Feng and having a banquet, he raided ten thousand li across both Feng and Lin Countries to slaughter over a hundred True Gods.
If someone were to tell Great Venerable Shenlei right now that Qi Yuan had taken those True Gods to lay siege to an evil god military encampment, Shenlei would actually believe it.
Chapter 214