Chapter 569: Hall Masters Gather, the Unfathomably Deep Myriad Phenomena Pavilion

In the Western Flood waters, a magnificent treasure hall stood — it was the residence of the Fourth Prince of the Qi family.

Outside the hall, a sparse few figures hurried over, riding the water.

The one at the head was none other than Ke Laoqi of the Western Long Gong, Qi Zhaoping.

Compared with the grand processions of his outings in the past, this time his entourage was extremely modest — only two trusted confidants, giving off a notably low-key air.

"Hurry and announce me to Fourth Brother for me. I have urgent matters to discuss."

Qi Zhaoping stood with his hands at his sides, his eyes glinting coldly, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

Only the two trusted confidant demon generals beside him knew just how great a temper Seventh Master had thrown back in his own hall.

As the master of Western Flood, his subordinates were all controlled by that damned woman, to the point that An Tingfeng and the Blue Phoenix clan leader had been missing for many days, and his own Seventh Master had still been kept completely in the dark.

It was only when someone, right above the Western Long Gong, brutally cut down the lives of several Glazed Blue Phoenixes that Qi Zhaoping finally realized what had happened.

Anyone with eyes could see that those Blue Phoenixes had taken the Long Gong as their backing — more precisely, they had taken his Seventh Prince as their patron.

Yet right there on his patron's own territory, they were slaughtered to the last without a shred of mercy.

How could Qi Zhaoping not be furious!

Of course, what made him even more panicked inside was that Eldest Brother had only given him a few tasks in total, and finding that black bear still had no lead. He had originally planned to use the matter of An Tingfeng and the Blue Phoenixes submitting to console Eldest Brother, so he had hurriedly sent word south.

Now the message had been delivered, but the people were gone!

Qi Zhaoping could already almost imagine how violently furious Eldest Brother would be upon learning of this.

No good… he had to come up with some kind of explanation.

Qi Zhaoping understood clearly in his heart: among his brothers, some were in cahoots with Second Brother, trying to seize Eldest Brother's Crown Prince position, while others had taken that dead woman's benefits.

By comparison, Fourth Brother was considered the more neutral one, and his strength was also extremely formidable.

This was also the reason Qi Zhaoping had come here today.

Finally, led by two Black-Backed Jiao generals, Qi Zhaoping strode into the treasure hall, making his way all the way to the main hall. The moment he saw the jade-horned silver dragon in splendid robes upon the throne, he cupped his fist without thinking and denounced bitterly: "Fourth Brother! The face of our Western Long Gong is nearly lost entirely!"

Hearing this, the silver dragon in splendid robes remained leaning back, his expression showing little ripple.

He swept a brief glance at his brother below and said coolly: "Tell me — is it the face of the Western Long Gong, or yours?"

"……"

At those words, Qi Zhaoping suddenly choked.

Qi Zhaoyang withdrew his gaze and continued: "You know perfectly well the Long Gong doesn't like that flock of phoenix demons — even catching their scent makes them nauseous — yet you still insisted on mixing with them. You and Eldest Brother really must be starved."

"You wanted to win over that flock of phoenix demons, but couldn't protect them, and now you come looking for me."

At this point, Qi Zhaoyang smiled slightly, revealing sharp dragon fangs, carrying a hint of mockery.

"Fourth Brother, you mean…"

Having his thoughts exposed in just a few words, the more Qi Zhaoping listened, the more he felt his face burning with shame.

He forcibly swallowed the anger in his chest, his expression dark and shifting, and unclasped his cupped fists: "Your brother understands. If Fourth Brother is unwilling to help, your brother will go seek other assistance."

Having said that, he turned and walked away.

Qi Zhaoyang watched his brother's departure indifferently, the mockery at the corner of his lips turning into contempt.

With this kind of temperament, he still dares to involve himself in the struggle for succession.

Tap, tap.

Just as Qi Laoqi was about to step out of the great hall, Qi Zhaoyang finally tapped the armrest of the throne lightly with his fingertip: "I don't wish to meddle in the affairs of Eldest Brother and Second Brother, but the matters of Western Flood — this Prince also cannot sit idly by and let people find fault."

He stared at Qi Laoqi's back and slowly sat up straight: "Tell me — what's the story with that Wan Yao Dian."

"So Fourth Brother has heard too."

Qi Zhaoping turned around. Hearing those three words, fury instinctively welled up in his eyes: "Actually, your brother dealt with them long ago, but I took a quiet loss and felt it was too embarrassing, so I had no face to report back to the Palace."

Qi Zhaoyang nodded noncommittally.

He certainly knew that the reason Seventh had suppressed this matter was absolutely not because of any embarrassment — most likely it involved Eldest Brother.

But just as he had said earlier, as the Fourth, neither his strength nor his status stood at the top — he truly had no mind to meddle in those affairs.

"Actually, when all is said and done, they're nothing special. After I came back I thought it over carefully — if they really were as strong as they appeared, and combined with that arrogant and domineering way of doing things, how could they possibly have let me return last time completely unscathed?"

Qi Zhaoping deliberated for a moment, then raised his eyes.

If the other side feared the Western Long Gong, then what was the meaning of slaughtering the Glazed Blue Phoenixes right in front of him this time?

"I'm eighty percent sure…"

"I don't want to hear your conjectures." The Fourth Prince of the Qi family waved his hand, cutting off his brother's words, and said without mercy: "I just want to know — do they have anyone at the Heavenly Realm?"

"Not even close."

Qi Zhaoping shook his head with certainty. No matter how poor his eye was, the terrifying gulf between Earth Realm and Heavenly Realm was still something he could distinguish.

"Understood."

Qi Zhaoyang nodded, then rose to his feet.

He spread his arms, and immediately guards came forward bearing armor, helping him don it — silver armor, silver cape, paired with that pair of jade horns on his brow, truly a magnificent and indescribable sight.

"Lead the way. Let's go have a talk with them."

"A talk?" Qi Zhaoping frowned at him.

Qi Zhaoyang glanced at him, stepped down the long stairs, his armor clanking loudly.

A hint of killing intent gradually crept into his expression: "Have a little talk… about Western Flood's way of treating guests. The Long Gong is not exclusive, but one must distinguish primary from secondary — we have no habit of sharing this stretch of water and land with outsiders."

"If they want to climb upward by trampling on the Western Long Gong's face, then they had better be prepared to fall and be smashed to pieces."

Elite great demon generals stood ramrod-straight outside the hall. They had a carriage prepared and hitched up two Black-Backed Jiao dragons, each several hundred zhang long. Once the two Princes had taken their seats, they yanked the reins sharply, and the two great Jiao instantly became black shadows streaking across the water's surface, like murderous dark clouds soaring into the heavens.

……

Western Flood, the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion.

Inside the great hall, Liu Shiqian sat quietly in the main seat, staring blankly at the empty space below in a daze.

Not long after, a burly figure clad in a dark golden cultivation robe appeared silently at the hall's entrance, walking slowly in and taking a seat beside the main one: "What's wrong? You've reached Harmonization, yet you're burdened with worries?"

"Nothing."

Liu Shiqian quickly bowed his hands.

He stared at his own palms and fell into deep thought again.

As a senior elder of Qingyue Sect, having lived so long, he had never encountered such a thing before.

Finding a Harmonization treasure land by chance, though rare, was something he had occasionally heard of.

But to not only find a treasure land by chance, but also seize the place while the former sect leader's corpse was still warm, his aura still lingering, and take control of it within mere days… it was less like Harmonization, more like soul usurpation.

The Dao of cultivation is arduous and hard to tread.

Yet this was like having a path laid out for you, while someone carried you sprinting straight to Harmonization, saving you even the effort of walking yourself—until you fully crossed that realm, Liu Shiqian still hadn't come to his senses.

After entering the early stage of Harmonization, though masked by the dark golden robe, he subtly sensed that this elder was not nearly as powerful as he had originally guessed.

Precisely because of this, Liu Shiqian grew even more unnerved.

Someone who could casually gift you a treasure land could never be so easily seen through—this could only mean that only now, after breaking through, could he truly perceive the vast gulf between them.

Shen Zongzhu had only been in Yu Nanhong for a short while, yet he had already befriended such an unfathomable force.

What price had the other side paid to secure this treasure land for Liu Shiqian?

Every time he thought of this, Liu Shiqian grew even more cautious, afraid of uttering even half a wrong word and bringing trouble upon Shen Zongzhu, ruining the other's plans.

"Truly, the higher one's cultivation, the smaller one's courage—books never lie."

Liu Shiqian sighed inwardly, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

He now even began to miss the days back in Qingyue Sect, idly flipping through books.

At that moment, the Dao tablet at his waist trembled twice.

From within came the panicked voice of Elder Chi Yang: "Old Liu, something's happened! Your Harmonization treasure land has caught the Long Gong's attention—they seem hostile!"

"..."

Liu Shiqian froze, turning his head sideways.

If he remembered correctly, when he first arrived at Wanxiang Pavilion, he had seen Long Gong's great demons helping repair the floor tiles—by all logic, their relationship should have been decent.

Wu Jun also heard the voice from the Dao tablet. He sat silently in his seat, unsure how to respond.

Damn it, though he was the deputy lord of the Northern Pavilion of the Ten Thousand Demons, he was still just a tiny Bai Yujing—his master was gone, how was he supposed to handle the Long Gong?

He could only urgently link his mind to Shen Yi.

"Wait! That's Prince Si of the Qi family's carriage… Damn it, a Heaven Realm great demon!"

Chi Yang's voice suddenly trembled; even as an Xian Sect elder, he couldn't help cursing—clearly, his inner turmoil was immense.

"Come in quickly!"

Liu Shiqian had no time to think further—he immediately opened the sect's protective formation and brought Chi Yang, who had been guarding outside, inside.

He swallowed hard, yet found that this mysterious figure beside him, even upon hearing the name of Prince Si of the Qi family, remained as unmoving as a rock, seated calmly, as if he held all cards.

This… how can he sit so calmly?

Liu Shiqian refused to let Shen Zongzhu lose face. Though his whole body was taut, he showed not a trace of fear.

The two sat in silence.

Boom!

Just as Chi Yang reached the hall's entrance and hadn't yet spoken, the ground shook violently—he staggered, grabbing the doorframe, staring upward in utter terror.

Above, the blue sky veiled in white clouds suddenly cracked like shattered glass, riddled with terrifying fissures spreading like spiderwebs to the horizon.

At the center of those spiderweb fissures, a sliver of snow-white sword blade had appeared out of nowhere.

A single sword strike had shattered more than half of the sect's protective formation!

What immense power!

Elder Chi Yang quickly turned back—and his stunned expression deepened: before this terrifying display, the two inside the hall sat even calmer than before.

The cultivator wrapped in the great robe, whose true face could not be discerned, was one thing.

But when had Old Liu acquired such composure? How could he face a Heaven Realm great demon without flinching?!

"What do we do now?" Chi Yang hurried inside.

"Cough."

Liu Shiqian gripped the armrest—he had no idea what to do.

With such a vast gulf between realms, even if he squeezed every last bit of his aura, there was no chance of turning the tide.

Thinking of this, he could only turn his gaze toward the burly figure beside him: "..."

Under their stares, Wu Jun remained silent.

"Wait—could this treasure land be something you took from the Long Gong?" Elder Chi Yang suddenly remembered something and looked up in shock.

Liu Shiqian fell silent.

Come to think of it, based on his understanding of Shen Zongzhu, such a thing was not beyond him.

Before the words had even faded, they were cut off by a booming voice from outside the sect.

"I believe I now have the right to enter and speak."

Even though the two had just arrived from Yu Nanhong, merely from the calm, composed tone, anyone not an idiot could deduce the speaker's identity.

Prince Si of the Qi family, Qi Zhaoyang!

"Elder."

Liu Shiqian rose to his feet, casting a questioning glance at Wu Jun.

When he was in Bai Yujing, even when a Harmonization great demon had placed a hand on his shoulder, he hadn't panicked—how much less so now that he himself had reached Harmonization?

Still, he couldn't just sit here idle.

Under the gaze of the two, Wu Jun finally slowly raised his eyes, looking through the palace door toward the sky, staring indifferently at the sword blade that had shattered the firmament and the web-like cracks.

Just as Elder Chi Yang was still guessing how the other would respond, a contemptuous snicker rang in his ear.

Beneath the dark golden ceremonial robe, the voice carried a touch of sighing.

"A stinking bug that learns nothing."

These few short words left Liu Shiqian and Elder Chi Yang stunned in place as if struck by lightning.

In the Western Flood Land, someone actually dared to call a Jade-Horned Silver Dragon a "stinking bug" so openly.

This could hardly be called arrogance; it was more like courting death. To an unaware observer, it might seem that the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion was the true master of the Western Flood.

"Old Liu... you're getting more and more impressive."

Elder Chi Yang felt his mouth dry and his tongue parched, unable to help but mutter a complaint to the side.

When they arrived, the two had been cautious and wary, fearing any mishap; how little time had passed, and now the other could sit shoulder-to-shoulder with someone who dared to mock the Dragon Prince to his very nose.

"Shut up."

Liu Shiqian rebuked him in a low voice, then saw that senior step forward, walking out of the great hall at a leisurely pace, before soaring out of the Myriad Phenomena Nanyang Baodi.

"Does this mean they intend to clash head-on?" Elder Chi Yang's eyes widened; before he could react, he noticed Old Liu hesitate for a moment, then actually follow.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!"

Elder Chi Yang stamped his foot. Though terrified to the extreme, he knew that if he could not stop these great demons of the Long Gong, even hiding within the Nanyang Baodi would be like covering one's ears while stealing a bell; death was unavoidable. Helplessly, he rode a cloud into the sky to follow.

Outside the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion.

The horizon was dominated by two massive black-backed flood dragons; under the shadow of their enormous, terrifying forms, the entire Nanyang Baodi and its surroundings seemed to lose all luster.

But the most eye-catching were the two relatively small, magnificent treasure palanquins, especially the one closer to the front.

Qi Zhaoping leaned lazily upon it, his expression relaxed, showing no sign that he had just summoned his weapon and nearly shattered the sect's great protective array of the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion.

"..."

Qi Zhaoping shifted his gaze; of course, he knew this was Fourth Brother teaching him a lesson, telling him how the Western Long Gong should conduct its affairs.

He must have learned about the time he had subordinates help repair the floor tiles last time.

Thinking of this, his face flushed red.

Who wouldn't want to be so domineering? The problem was, he was not a Heaven Realm powerhouse; how could he possibly have the strength to easily break an array?

Never mind; losing face in front of one's own kin was acceptable, as long as they could retrieve their dignity from the hands of the Wan Yao Dian.

Qi Zhaoping adjusted his breathing, then likewise gazed down with imposing majesty.

From within the Zhidao Sect came that snicker.

Immediately following, a piercing "stinking bug" echoed in the ears of all the demons.

"Cough, cough."

Qi Zhaoping nearly choked, casting a strange look at Fourth Brother, and noticed that on the other's composed face, a hint of awkwardness had subtly appeared.

This Wan Yao Dian... seemed not only to be arrogant toward him alone; it was damnably even-handed.

Before Seventh Prince could think too much.

Qi Zhaoping had already extended his hand slightly, recalling that gleaming, eye-stinging treasure sword.

He casually flicked a sword flourish; with this slight movement, the vast waters below suddenly grew turbulent. The boundless green waves seemed to roar in unison, rolling up ceaselessly, as if to swallow everything within sight.

"Seeking death."

Qi Zhaoping ran two fingers along the blade until his fingertips touched the edge; only then did he finally direct his gaze toward the array below.

Just as he prepared to completely shatter this annoying great array, his motion paused slightly.

He saw three figures successively soar out from the array.

Those two cultivators with solemn faces could be ignored for now; Qi Zhaoping stared tightly at the robust figure in the great robe at the very front. Clearly, the previous sarcasm had come from that person's mouth.

Straining his eyes to the utmost, Qi Zhaoping quickly detected something unusual, then looked over at his own brother with a playful expression, his lips curling in even greater contempt: "Last time, were you scared off by such a tattered garment?"

"How is that possible!"

Qi Zhaoping hastily refuted, explaining anxiously: "Last time, it wasn't that one who came out; it was two others. I intended to slay them, but I was cautious, worried about causing trouble for the Palace, so I planned to investigate further first."

"So, have you investigated clearly?"

This question was not asked by Fourth Prince, but came from below.

Wu Jun walked slowly to the spot where the floor tile had been before, gently grinding it with his foot. Having received his master's response, a more ferocious edge entered his laughter.

In an instant, he raised his head to look at the sky.

Beneath the dark golden hood, a pair of eyes brimmed with murderous intent: "Last time, this place was shattered; my Lord was magnanimous, allowing you to repair it. This time, you have shattered the array here; what do you intend to use to make amends?"

Having his shortcoming suddenly exposed, Qi Laoqi's face flushed red again. He was about to say something more, but the other casually cut him off.

Wu Jun ceased his laughter; his voice suddenly became indifferent: "Never mind. Then we shall fill it with the worthless lives of you two stinking bugs."

"On your strength alone?" Qi Zhaoping was momentarily stunned, as if hearing some absurd joke. The long sword in his hand trembled slightly. Did this group of charlatans rely on this trick to gain too many advantages, to the point they dared to use it before a Heaven Realm Dragon like himself?

Not only the demons of the Long Gong, but even Liu Shiqian and Chi Yang felt somewhat unsettled and doubtful.

How could slaying a Heaven Realm Dragon Demon be such a simple matter?!

"Tsk."

Wu Jun nodded slightly, looking toward the rear of the demons.

Following his gaze, the demons of the Long Gong turned their heads in confusion, then all froze in place.

They saw, at the farthest end of the distant sky, one on the left and one on the right, two towering figures hovering with arms crossed. The same dark golden ceremonial robes fluttered loudly in the wind.

They watched this place in silence, as if guarding the blue sky and cutting off all paths of survival.

"It is him! It was here last time!"

Qi Zhaoping instantly realized, suddenly rising and pointing at Ke Laoqi. Seeing an enemy, hatred burned in his eyes; he immediately roared: "Where is the other dwarf? Has he not dared to show himself because my Fourth Brother has arrived?"

The demons tightened their grip on their sword hilts, directing their sharp blades at those two.

Only Qi Zhaoyang suddenly fell silent, slowly stepping out of the treasure palanquin, and slightly raising his eyes to look.

He saw that above the two treasure palanquins, at some unknown moment, two figures had silently appeared.

One was plump and full-figured, the other petite.

The two stood with their hands at their sides, quietly perched atop the treasure palanquins, like ghostly phantoms without form. They had already reached such a dangerous distance, yet even Qi Zhaoping—a great demon comparable to a perfected Earth Realm cultivator—had not sensed them in the slightest.

Qi Zhaoyang drew in a deep breath and looked toward the petite figure atop his own treasure palanquin.

The other party happened to cast their gaze over as well.

As the two locked eyes, Qi Zhaoyang suddenly felt a deep chill welling up from his back.

(End of chapter)