Chapter 435: Frost Moon Redder Than February Flowers

No one knows the truth of Chen Xuan's beheading better than Zhang Hao.

The fact is indeed that Zhang Hao, in a fit of rage, lopped off Chen Xuan's head, but there were reasons behind it.

The one who truly went too far was not Zhang Hao, but Chen Xuan.

Back then, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe had no intention of resolving the conflict at all — they only wanted to suppress it. To put it bluntly, Chen Xuan had invited several alchemists with the purpose of coercing and bribing them, forcing them to compromise.

Zhang Hao's Hong Yan was also among those being threatened.

Zhang Hao stepped forward to help Hong Yan, which drew Chen Xuan's displeasure. Out of deference to Bai Yuanxianjun's name, he did not lay a hand on Zhang Hao on the spot.

Of course, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe did not actually fear Bai Yuanxianjun. In terms of heritage, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe's foundation was no weaker than Bai Yuanxianjun's — they possessed an existence at the Sixth Step of the Divine, otherwise how could a clan have stood for so long?

In terms of reputation and wealth, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe far surpassed Bai Yuanxianjun by a great, great margin.

What they truly feared was Bai Yuanxianjun's identity as a loose cultivator — a loose cultivator who goes mad is something no one can withstand.

Because they have nothing to worry about, no concern about any forces behind them being implicated, so to speak — it is better to provoke a great power than to provoke Bai Yuanxianjun.

Bai Yuanxianjun is an existence at the Sixth Step of the Divine. Once he goes mad, it would be far too difficult for others to catch up to him, and killing their juniors would be as easy as turning over his hand.

As everyone knows, for a force to flourish, two things are indispensable: first, fresh blood; second, the foundation of the force.

The fear is that Bai Yuanxianjun, because of Zhang Hao, would cast aside all face and make a move against the juniors of the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe. When that time comes, unless the juniors of the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe never leave the clan's lands for the rest of their lives, the moment they step out, they die.

They can't exactly have the foundation accompany their juniors on every outing as bodyguards, can they?

However, fear aside, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe was not truly afraid of Bai Yuanxianjun — they had ways to deal with him.

These are not the point.

The point is that Zhang Hao stepped forward to help Hong Yan, enraging Chen Xuan.

Out of deference to Bai Yuanxianjun's name, Chen Xuan did not make a move on the spot, but instead made a move against Hong Yan — he bound Hong Yan and coerced Zhang Hao, who was present, into voluntarily proposing a sparring match with Chen Xuan.

When the time came, Chen Xuan would have plenty of reasons for an accidental killing to murder Zhang Hao, since it was Zhang Hao who had voluntarily proposed the sparring match.

As the saying goes, a dragon has an inverse scale; touch it and it dies. Being chosen by Lord Kamikawa to be sent to another world naturally means his character and moral quality are good, fitting Lord Kamikawa's ideas.

Lord Kamikawa values kin and friends most of all, and the Zhang Hao he chose is the same way.

Hong Yan was captured and used to coerce him — how could this be endured? Zhang Hao would not let it rest.

And so came the scene of Chen Xuan being beheaded by Zhang Hao.

Chen Xuan never expected, until his death, that he himself was at the Eighth Layer of Living Beings, and had all manner of supreme treasures bestowed by the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe at his side — he never imagined he would lose to a mere outstanding talent at the Fourth Layer of Living Beings.

Just looking at the two of their own strength, there was a full four cultivation layers between them.

In truth, any normal person would think the same as Chen Xuan, and would underestimate Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao cannot be thought of in ordinary terms, because he is the candidate Lord Kamikawa chose to send to another world. To put it bluntly, the moment Zhang Hao went to another world, he became a cheat.

To deal with a cheat, one must be a cheat oneself.

Chen Xuan was clearly not a cheat — he was merely an RMB player.

Relying on the divine artifact "Muchen Zhu," Zhang Hao crossed cultivation layers and beheaded Chen Xuan.

At the same time.

Before the Chaotic Shishan Forest.

"Chen Clan Ancient Tribe, I will not let this rest!"

Zhang Hao finally reached the Chaotic Shishan Forest before the pursuers caught him, and without hesitation charged into it.

His eyes bloodshot, his expression ferocious, he let out a roar at the pursuers behind him, nearly startling them.

"What do we do — do we go in or not?" The pursuers hesitated, not entering the Chaotic Shishan Forest right away.

"The Chaotic Shishan Forest is too dangerous. With our level of strength, going in there would mean death nine times out of ten. How about this — we stay here on guard, pick a few people to go report to the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe, notify them that Zhang Hao has been driven into the Chaotic Shishan Forest by us, and we split the reward evenly."

"That plan works."

"Mm… that's fine too. To be safe, it's best we swear a blood oath, to prevent whoever goes to report from swallowing the reward and running off."

"I agree."

"Alright, then we'll pick a few people to go report — that way we can keep each other in check too."

There was no helping it — they were all loose cultivators, their cultivation resources entirely fought for and seized. It was hard to guarantee no one would embezzle, and anyone who had made it this far was no fool.

……

Chaotic Shishan Forest.

Zhang Hao twisted and turned within it, following the sensing of "Muchen Zhu," avoiding danger, until he found a stone cave, then flashed inside and hid.

Hoo~

Seeing the pursuers had not followed, Zhang Hao let out a breath of relief, but the gloom and anger between his brows did not dissipate — his frown remained fixed in place.

After treating his wounds, Zhang Hao carefully emerged from the cave mouth, looked toward a certain direction, his eyes revealing deep worry:

"I don't know how Master and Xiao Yan are doing — I hope they're alright. If anything happened to them, Chen Clan Ancient Tribe! Even if it takes my entire life, I will make you accompany Master and Xiao Yan in death!!"

His voice was chilling and terrifying, as if an evil ghost had emerged into the world.

He had received reliable intelligence that not long after he beheaded Chen Xuan, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe was furious, vowing to kill him for revenge, and at the same time looking for an opportunity to make a move against Bai Yuanxianjun.

Bai Yuanxianjun — a loose cultivator — if he could be used by the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe, even a great power like the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe could obtain a tremendous boost.

An existence at the Sixth Step of the Divine, a peak existence at the pinnacle of Lord Tianhong's Great World — even looking across the entirety of the present era of Lord Tianhong's Great World, there were not many.

However.

To deal with Bai Yuanxianjun, the Chen Clan Ancient Tribe allied with other ancient tribes and ancient powers, dispatching three existences at the Sixth Step of the Divine to join hands and set a trap to kill Bai Yuanxianjun.

One must know that an existence at the Sixth Step of the Divine is a treasure from head to toe, let alone their own vast wealth — even if the other party was a loose cultivator, there was no ancient power that would not be greedy.

The reason Zhang Hao was being hunted today was precisely because he had learned the news that his master Bai Yuanxianjun had been gravely wounded. Whether the news was true or false, he could not remain indifferent, and had taken the risk to come out and gather information.

And then he was discovered by the pursuers, and chased all the way here.

"Get stronger! I must become immortal!"

Zhang Hao gritted his teeth, his gaze more determined than ever before, and sat cross-legged to cultivate.

After surviving multiple brushes with death, he had awakened his potential and successfully stepped into the Fifth Layer of Living Beings.

……

Tokyo, Japan — Arakawa Ward, an apartment.

"Kamikawa-kun, what are you thinking about?"

Tsuchimikado Xia Mei waved her hand in front of Kamikawa Mitsu.

"Most likely thinking about some young lady." Rikai quipped.

Iori blinked and covered her mouth: "Oh my, with so many beauties around you, Kamikawa-nii-san, and you're still spacing out."

Matsuka Chisato handed a skewer of meat she had grilled herself to the now-recovered Kamikawa Mitsu: "Stop teasing Kamikawa-kun, or he'll blush."

Taking the skewer, Kamikawa Mitsu gave a small cough and casually offered an excuse:

"Don't talk nonsense, I was just thinking — if this were ancient times, what kind of poem would a poet compose for an outing in a place like this."

The moment those words left his mouth, Kamikawa Chie — who had recently learned online that her Kamikawa family were descendants of Chiyou, and had grown ever more fond of studying the culture of Hua — couldn't help glancing at the maple trees not far in the suburbs, then at Rikai, Matsuka Chisato, and the others.

Unconsciously, a line of classical poetry surfaced in her mind.

I stop the carriage, sit to love the maple forest at dusk — frost-touched leaves are redder than February blooms.

……