Chapter 120: Murong Xuanji Confrontation
Chapter 120: Murong Xuanji Confrontation
— Night – Azure River Province Wilderness —
Under the starless night sky, where dark clouds gathered, three massive battleship type flying arks silently sailed through the air above the sea of forest below.
Each flying ark was about one kilometer long. Each was equipped with a large spinal cannon that had a barrel more than ten meters wide. On top of each ship were two dual cannons. The lead ship was especially imposing, as it carried four large cannons.
On the tower-like structure of the lead flying ark, Murong Xuanji, the patriarch of the Murong Clan, was speaking with two elders of his clan. They were the commanders of the two flanking ships, which protected the flagship Murong Xuanji was aboard.
“My lord, according to the scout teams we sent to survey the area, there are no people within five thousand li of the Martial Exchange Grand Stage. It seems those Azure River cowards have already escaped. What should we do, Patriarch? Should we chase them down?” one of the elders asked.
Murong Xuanji listened calmly before shaking his head. “There is no need.” He then looked toward the direction of the Azure River Capital.
“Wen’er died within the Azure River Province. We will destroy the entire Azure River Capital to accompany him and serve him in the underworld,” Murong Xuanji said, his voice filled with nostalgic melancholy.
Seeing their patriarch fall into grief, the elders glanced at each other. One of them then decided to speak.
“Patriarch, I understand that you are grieving for the young master, but we must not do this. The Azure River Province has its guardian. Otherwise, His Majesty the Divine Vermilion Bird Emperor would have already invaded and merged this province into our great empire. If we act too heavy handed, that guardian might appear, and our main goal will fail,” the elder said.
Another elder chimed in, “The Right Elder is correct. Patriarch, our main objective is to take control of the Primordial Ruin Secret Realm. We should not do anything that provokes the guardian.”
Murong Xuanji coldly looked at the two elders as he clenched his fists tightly.
“Are you saying we should let them go? Do you want me to swallow this loss without doing anything?”
The elders were shaken. They exchanged glances, and one of them finally spoke.
“Patriarch, we understand your grief, but we must secure the Primordial Ruin Secret Realm first. After reinforcements from the Vermilion Bird Dynasty arrive, we can have our revenge. No, we can even exact our revenge while securing the secret realm.”
He quickly continued, afraid of earning the patriarch’s ire. “We can avoid provoking the guardian of this province and head straight to Thousand Treasure City. That city belongs to a demonic path sect. We can level the entire city without provoking the guardian.”
Hearing this, Murong Xuanji slowly closed his eyes. His ragged breathing gradually calmed, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed.
“Fine….. We will do as you suggest,” he said curtly, before walking out to look at the night view.
“It seems the Patriarch is deeply upset by the death of Young Master Murong,” one of the elders said quietly.
“Well, it cannot be helped. He was his heir, after all. It is understandable that he would be so upset,” the other elder agreed.
Murong Xuanji gazed at the night view. In the distance, a cluster of lights marked a city built along a cliff, with tower-like buildings standing proudly atop the rocky heights.
It was Thousand Treasure City. A smile slowly crept onto his face. Soon, he would exact his vengeance, and soon, the long awaited mission would finally be completed.
But then, his sharp eyes caught sight of a silhouetted figure standing within a vast clearing. The clearing was clearly man made, as there were obvious traces of battle, and the corpses of numerous cultivators were scattered across the ground.
Thousands of tree stumps and fallen trunks of various sizes lay strewn throughout the clearing. It was as if a massive claw had swept across the forest, cutting everything down in a single terrifying motion.
As the flying battleship drew closer and closer, the silhouette of the man became increasingly clear, until Murong Xuanji finally recognized him.
“Wei Chen!” Murong Xuanji roared, calling out the name of the man who had humiliated the Murong Clan, the man who had exposed the disgraceful side of his heir to the entire world.
Murong Xuanji immediately flew out from the ship and stopped about twenty meters in front of the man, floating in midair. He looked down at Wei Chen as if a god were gazing upon a mere mortal.
Sweeping his gaze across the clearing, Murong Xuanji recognized the uniforms on the corpses. They belonged to Murong Clan scouts, and among them were also the clan’s death warriors. The number was in the hundreds, no, in the thousands.
This was practically the entire force the Murong Clan had sent to infiltrate Azure River Province and assist Murong Wen in taking control of the Primordial Ruin Secret Realm.
“You! Are you the one who killed all these people?” Murong Xuanji demanded, glaring down at the man he hated most, the one standing below him and looking back up as if a mortal daring to defy a god.
Wei Chen met Murong Xuanji’s gaze with a confident smile, showing no fear at all.
“Does that even matter?” Wei Chen asked calmly, a knowing smile on his face. He knew Murong Xuanji would not care about such a trivial detail.
At this time, large screens appeared throughout cities, towns, and sects with sufficient population. It was nighttime, and people quickly noticed the light from the screens. Mortals enjoying the night bazaars and red light districts immediately became interested, while cultivators flying through the skies or admiring the night scenery also noticed the sudden displays.
Among them was a vulgar looking man dressed in ragged clothes. His long hair was streaked with patches of white, and his beard was thick and rugged, though not very long. Altogether, he gave off the image of a savage and unrefined man. Beside him were two women from a brothel, accompanying him as they looked up at the screen.
His hands were far from well behaved, groping the women beside him as they giggled and continued doing their job of entertaining him.
This man was Du Qingsou, the renowned Lust Demon. He usually operated in the north, but since the Ethereal Frozen Palace had descended from the northern regions to attend the Martial Exchange Grand Stage, he had followed them here.
“Hahahaha! That brat is at it again! Looks like I need to find and buy this so-called U Phone!” Du Qingsou said with a wide grin, raising his wine cup in a toast toward the screen.
— Meanwhile – Primordial Ruin Secret Realm —
Within the Primordial Ruin Secret Realm, Mo Xingyao’s U Phone rang. The ringtone was the tone she had specifically set for when Wei Chen’s broadcast came online. She quickly opened it, allowing the device to project a hologram-like screen so that everyone nearby could see it clearly.
The moment Mo Xingyao opened the broadcast stream, voices immediately rang out.
[Murong Xuanji: “You! Are you the one who killed all these people?”]
[Wei Chen: “Does that even matter?”]
The screen displayed Wei Chen facing Murong Xuanji, who was looking down at him as if a god gazing upon a mortal.
Mo Jue, who was sitting nearby, noticed the projected screen. “Oh… that brat was just outside the city? Was he trying to stop the Murong Clan all by himself? He has guts. I like that!” Mo Jue praised with a smile.
“Father! This is not the time to praise him! Please bring our people to help him! He’s facing three Murong Clan battleships!” Mo Xingyao shook her father anxiously.
Mo Jue responded with a relaxed smile. “Relax, Yaoyao. That brat is not the type to do something that would leave him at the short end of the stick. He would not put himself at a disadvantage.”
“Father…” Mo Xingyao murmured, worry written all over her face.
“Besides,” Mo Jue continued, “I want to see whether this brat has some kind of trump card that can help him overcome this.” He then looked at Mo Xingyao.
“And if he really cannot handle it, I will go out and help him myself. You can relax. I will not let your future husband die out there,” Mo Jue said with a broad smile.
“Who…. Who is my husband!? Father, please stop talking nonsense!” Mo Xingyao huffed, her face turning as red as a tomato.
“Hahahahaha!” Mo Jue laughed out loud as he watched his precious daughter fume in a fit of fake anger.
— Vast Clearing – Outside the Thousand Treasure City —
At the vast man-made clearing, Wei Chen defiantly looked at Murong Xuanji.
Murong Xuanji, on the other hand, looked down at Wei Chen below him like a god gazing at an insignificant mortal.
“I don’t want to pile the sin of killing my people on the wrong person, even if you are already on the list of people from whom I must exact justice,” Murong Xuanji said righteously.
“Justice?” Wei Chen smiled mockingly. “For whom? For your son, who died because he tried to kill someone under protection? Or for your clan’s reputation, because I merely tell your precious son of how normal people should behave?” Wei Chen asked with a shrug, then continued.
“Honestly… isn’t it tiring being a hypocrite?” Wei Chen asked.
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