Chapter 47: Contest

Moments later, inside a subterranean hall beneath an unassuming cave dwelling.

A white-robed figure wearing a red mask greeted the two guests with a smile: “I’ve long heard of the fame of the Yu Tian family’s ‘Five Divine Ones’—I never expected Marquis Jiang would send the two strongest among them.”

“My second brother is the strongest in our family; I’m far weaker—I don’t even rank among the top three within our clan,” said the woman with a frosty body, her voice soft as she naturally radiated cold, lowering the hall’s temperature significantly.

“You’re Xue Yun?” The burly figure stared at Xue Shenjun. “Wearing a mask, masking your aura—dare you not even show your true face?”

Xue Shenjun continued smiling at the two: “After all, I must remain hidden within Yu State for the long term—it’s better to be cautious.”

“Hmph.”

The burly figure said calmly, “Marquis Jiang should have already informed you of our arrival in Hu Yang City.”

“Yes,” said Xue Shenjun. “You’ve been sent to assist me in seizing the complete array diagram of Hu Yang City.”

“If the three of us act together, we must establish a clear hierarchy. Marquis Jiang didn’t say who should lead. In my view, we should settle this with a contest.”

Xue Shenjun looked at the siblings and nodded lightly: “I’ve long heard of the fame of Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi—I’ve been eager to test you both. You may fight together.”

“Together?” The burly figure and the frosty-bodied woman both stiffened.

They were both extremely proud.

Two against one? That was an insult.

“I alone can handle you,” said the burly figure.

“If you can defeat my second brother, my sibling and I will obey you,” said the frosty-bodied woman.

“Very well. I’ve heard Yu Tian family’s strongest, Yu Tian Hu, awakened a special bloodline and refined his body cultivation to an unimaginable degree.” Xue Shenjun regarded the burly figure. “Today, I shall test you.”

Saying this, Xue Shenjun released a great ship artifact, which landed in the center of the hall.

“After you.”

Xue Shenjun, Yu Tian Hu, and Yu Tian Yi all flew into the interior of the great ship artifact—after all, combat at their level produced too much disturbance; fighting inside the artifact ensured the battle’s energy wouldn’t be detected.

The three strongest leaders of Hu Yang City’s Shi Nation now engaged in a contest within the great ship artifact, the battle utterly invisible to the outside world.

Moments later, three figures flew out.

“Within Hu Yang City, all believe Luo He Shenjun’s divine body is extraordinary—capable of piercing the mechanical artifact ‘Zi Yu Hou’ with a single hand. In my view, Yu Tian Hu’s divine body… is likely even stronger than Luo He Shenjun’s,” Xue Shenjun praised. “Even the legendary Infinite Divine Body may struggle to surpass you. With Yu Tian Hu’s aid, our chances of seizing Hu Yang City’s array diagram have greatly increased.”

“My second brother’s divine body represents the ultimate pinnacle of bloodline cultivation for an Eternal True God,” Yu Tian Yi said, astonished at Xue Shenjun. “I never expected you’d still defeat him.”

After this exchange, the siblings realized just how deeply Xue Shenjun had concealed his true strength.

Xue Shenjun, who had long hidden his true identity, was obscure in reputation—but his power far exceeded their expectations.

“Since I began cultivating, you are the Eternal True God with the deepest foundation I’ve ever encountered,” Yu Tian Hu admitted. “During our fight, you used five techniques from the Chaos Realm. To have conceived so many Chaos Realm techniques, you’ve already placed one foot across its threshold.”

“I don’t know.”

Xue Shenjun shook his head. “I’ve been accumulating for so long—I always feel I’m drawing closer to the Chaos Realm. Yet, after countless years, I remain stuck at the Eternal True God stage.”

“Xue Shenjun, have you also cultivated the Law Path?” Yu Tian Yi asked.

“Yes.”

Xue Shenjun admitted: “Stuck in this bottleneck for so long, I tried to comprehend the Laws. As my understanding of the Laws deepened, I could better unlock my bloodline’s potential. The two cultivation systems are not contradictory—they complement each other.”

“Your insight truly surpasses mine,” Yu Tian Hu acknowledged. “I’ve lost this round, and I accept it fully. For this mission, my sibling and I will follow your lead.”

Yu Tian Yi nodded beside him.

Watching the siblings, Xue Shenjun silently exhaled—finally, he had won their compliance.

“Within Hu Yang City, the Lord’s Mansion holds the greatest advantage: ‘terrain.’ By terrain, I mean the Hu Yang City Array.” Xue Shenjun said. “This array has been refined over generations by countless experts. Once its full power activates, our strength will be severely suppressed.”

Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi both nodded.

“The array diagram is Hu Yang City’s core—the most tightly guarded element,” Xue Shenjun said. “And the most heavily protected location in Hu Yang City? Undoubtedly, the Lord’s Mansion. I suspect… the diagram lies within the Lord’s Mansion.”

“So what if we know?” Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi both frowned. “Do we just storm in?”

The Lord’s Mansion’s defenses were too strong—it was like a colossal mechanical artifact, brimming with peril.

“No rush. Marquis Jiang gave us one eon—our time is ample,” Xue Shenjun said. “First step: I plan to capture alive every expert who has ever repaired the Hu Yang City Array. They’ve modified it—they must have some knowledge of its structure.”

“From them, we’ll gather enough information about the array. They might even know the diagram’s exact location,” Xue said.

“How many experts in Hu Yang City have repaired the array?” Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi didn’t know.

“Historically, many have. Nine remain in Hu Yang City!” Xue said. “One has already defected to us. The other eight are troublesome.”

“Capture eight Eternal True Gods?” The Yu Tian siblings felt no pressure.

Xue Shenjun waved his hand, and seven detailed profiles of Eternal True Gods appeared in midair: “Our targets are these seven.”

“Seven? Not eight?” Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi frowned.

“One expert who repaired the Hu Yang City Array is called Shang Tian Yan,” Xue Shenjun explained. “He specializes in artifact crafting and the mechanical lineage—he’s among the top two artifact masters in Hu Yang City. But he’s Luo He Shenjun’s closest friend. If we go after Shang Tian Yan, we’ll draw Luo He Shenjun’s attention.”

“Luo He Shenjun?” Yu Tian Hu sneered. “Before coming to Hu Yang City, we studied every Eternal True God here. We heard Luo He Shenjun rarely fights.”

“He killed Mu Yang, the head of the Blood Serpent Guild. He pierced the Hu Yang Guard’s mechanical artifact ‘Zi Yu Hou’ with one hand. And the assassin Ying Cang likely died by his hand,” Xue Shenjun nodded. “He does fight rarely.”

“Who saw him fight Ying Cang? Who can say for sure he killed him?” Yu Tian Hu shook his head. “Even if he did kill Ying Cang, Ying Cang was just an assassin—famous for ambushes and escape. No one ever claimed his divine body was strong.”

“A weak divine body means death if he misses,” Yu Tian Yi added. “I think his strength isn’t great—he merely happened to counter Ying Cang perfectly.”

“The factions of Hu Yang City were so frightened by rumors of Luo He Shenjun’s fight with Ying Cang?” Yu Tian Yi also shook her head. “I think, as an Eternal True God, he can’t be much stronger than us. My second brother and you, Xue Shenjun, both represent the absolute peak of the Eternal True God realm. How strong could Luo He Shenjun possibly be?”

Blood Cloud nodded. “But our mortal enemy is the Marquis’s Mansion! The Marquis’s Mansion’s mortal enemy is us! At this moment, neither side wants to stir up trouble by bringing in an uncontrollable opponent. This Luohe Shenjun seeks no power or profit—we have no reason to provoke him.”

Xue nodded. “But our true enemy is the Lord’s Mansion. The Lord’s Mansion’s enemy is us. At this moment, neither side wants to provoke unnecessary complications by adding an uncontrollable opponent. Luo He Shenjun seeks no power or profit—we have no reason to provoke him.”

“For the mission, ignore him for now.”

Yu Tian Hu and Yu Tian Yi understood the stakes.

“Our first plan—to capture these seven Eternal True Gods—must be meticulously planned,” Xue Shenjun said.

“Mm.” The Yu Tian siblings doubted Luo He Shenjun’s strength, but feared the Lord’s Mansion—behind it stood the ancient Jiang Marquis and countless Shen Wangs of Yu State.

To deal with Luohe Shenjun, the Marquis’s Mansion cannot summon powerful forces from above.

To counter Luo He Shenjun, the Lord’s Mansion couldn’t summon reinforcements from above.

But to counter Shi Nation’s forces, the Lord’s Mansion could legitimately request aid.

Beneath the night-shrouded Hu Yang City, Luo Feng sat atop the mountain peak of his own cave dwelling, drinking wine while contacting Mo Li Meng and Zhu You.

“Ten days have passed—I assume you’ve made your decisions,” Luo Feng sent messages to each. “You’ve both experienced the power of the mechanical artifact ‘Jie Zhong Jian.’”

“Make your bids. Multiple parties are interested—the highest wins.”

Luo Feng had contacted only these two.

But Mo Li Meng and Zhu You didn’t know how many others Luo Feng had contacted.

“One point five million cosmic sands,” Mo Li Meng bid.

“One point three million cosmic sands,” Zhu You also offered.

Luo Feng replied: “Current price: one point five million cosmic sands.”

In fact, Luo Feng had visited the Yan Feng Pavilion these past days—they were willing to buy it for one point four million cosmic sands. But he refused to sell to them; for Yan Feng Pavilion, whose commercial network spanned the Origin Continent, what treasure hadn’t they seen? They only offered low prices.

“One point five five million cosmic sands,” Zhu You sent. At his side sat a gentle woman.

This gentle woman was a powerful recluse within Hu Yang City.

Even the Zhu Clan feared her.

“Raise by five hundred thousand cosmic sands each time,” the gentle woman instructed.

“One point seven five million cosmic sands.”

“One point nine million cosmic sands.” Zhu You watched the woman’s reaction with every bid.

“Tell that Luo He Shenjun—two million cosmic sands. That’s my final offer. No higher.”

Zhu You nodded.

After announcing the final price,

Zhu You waited a moment, then smiled: “Two million cosmic sands—the ‘Jie Zhong Jian’ belongs to Wei Shenjun.”

“Two million cosmic sands isn’t bad. Who knows when we’ll find another mechanical artifact capable of condensing Chaos Divine Power?” The gentle woman smiled.

“Luo He Shenjun will come to the Zhu Clan personally to deliver the ‘Jie Zhong Jian.’ Will Wei Shenjun meet him?” Zhu You asked.

“I’m not suited to appear,” Wei Shenjun shook her head.

Zhu You understood.

…

Elsewhere, several divine force incarnations gathered in the Lord’s Mansion.

“Two million cosmic sands? Is Luo He deliberately inflating the price? How could a single ‘Jie Zhong Jian’ cost so much?” A white-haired elder frowned. “This price is too high—we withdraw.”

“If it’s inflated, Luo He Shenjun will lower it and come back to us,” said a companion.

Mo Li Meng was responsible for communicating with Luo Feng.

“The ‘Jie Zhong Jian’ has been sold for two million cosmic sands,” Mo Li Meng said to those around him.

“Sold?” The white-haired elder froze.

(End of Chapter)