Chapter 610: Siblings in Conflict

"Junior of the Liangdaohuang Sect... Xue Yan... pays respects to Crown Prince Ziyang..."

Xue Yan panted in great gulps, veins bulging on his neck, yet still forced his hands apart, summoned every ounce of strength, and respectfully performed a bow.

So-called circumstances are stronger than people; if Senior Zi Xian had already married into the West Hong and counted as only half a person of the East Long Gong, then the one before him had an entirely different status — this person could almost represent the entire attitude of the East Hong!

Apart from his exalted status, although the Purple-Bearded White Dragon clan was renowned for benevolence, as the one in power, Ziyang was perhaps the most domineering personality in the entire clan — even more so than his own father.

He truly might choose to kill someone for the affront to the East Long Gong's dignity.

Before Crown Prince Ziyang, Xue Yan no longer dared to flaunt the Liangdaohuang Sect's banner — the two sides were forces of equal standing, and he was merely a junior who had just made a name; bowing his head to save his life was no shame.

"It's only that the Yue family was ambushed, and one of those involved was an old acquaintance of Senior Senior Zi Xian. This matter also happens to involve Wan Yao Dian. This junior merely wished to come ask about it, to give the Yue family an explanation while also preventing those fiends from plunging Hongze into utter devastation."

Feeling the suppression on his body ease slightly, Xue Yan hurriedly finished his words in one breath, then maintained his bowing posture, head lowered, awaiting the other's response.

Crown Prince Ziyang slightly raised his eyes; hearing the words "utter devastation," he finally turned his gaze slowly toward Senior Zi Xian and asked mildly, "Do you know that person?"

"I suppose I do."

Senior Zi Xian sighed: "But it really has nothing to do with Wan Yao Dian. He was a cultivator that the ninth son of the Qi family brought in to attend my birthday banquet back then. At the feast he had a bit of a clash with the Haoyue Shuanghu clan, and later I mediated and resolved the grudge — that's how we came to know each other. Because of certain matters he helped me save some face, and I rather admired him."

"..."

Xue Yan kept his head lowered; though he said nothing, he clearly did not believe these words.

Yet Crown Prince Ziyang had already withdrawn his gaze and said coolly, "Did you hear clearly?"

"I-I heard clearly." Xue Yan raised his head and forced a smile: "So it was merely a misunderstanding. This junior will now..."

Before the words had fallen, Crown Prince Ziyang gave a slight wave of his hand, and milky-white radiance instantly enveloped him. One treasure after another, along with his storage pouch, fell to the ground in succession. Then the white light gathered into a single point and landed on Xue Yan's chest — it had directly severed his connection to his treasured land and sealed his cultivation.

"I came to investigate the matter of Wan Yao Dian. Until the investigation is complete, the West Hong falls under the East Long Gong's jurisdiction. Anyone sent by the Liangdaohuang Sect will stand by at any time, awaiting orders. As for you — your cultivation is too low, so just rest here."

This Crown Prince still wore the same calm expression.

He only saw him give a slight nod of his chin: "Take him away."

The demon soldiers seeing Crown Prince Ziyang for the first time, before that barely concealable noble air, instinctively moved forward. Even though Xue Yan's eyes went wide and he glared at them in fury, the demon soldiers still bound him up trembling and dragged him off toward the mountainside.

"..."

Senior Zi Xian's gaze flickered away — it was her first time telling a lie in front of her elder brother, and she felt oddly guilty.

But for some reason, before she understood exactly what role Shen Yi played in this matter, she truly did not want her brother to fixate on him.

"Come in."

Crown Prince Ziyang seemed not to notice his sister's odd behavior; he beckoned and closed the door as well.

The moment Senior Zi Xian had steadied herself, her expression changed drastically.

"Once this matter is investigated, come home with me." Crown Prince Ziyang's voice was no longer mild; it had taken on a stern edge.

"Why?!" Senior Zi Xian stared in astonishment. She had already found it strange — although her letter had described the strangeness of Wan Yao Dian, it shouldn't have been enough to summon her brother here.

"No reason. I never agreed with Father's plan from the very start."

Crown Prince Ziyang frowned as he looked at her, saying word by word: "We have no grudge against the Immortals — it is the Nanhongqi Sect that has a grudge against the Immortals. Of course, it is a fact that Princess Ziling once wronged Xuanqing and harmed the General Nanyang Sect, but making amends can be done in many ways — for instance, by supporting the Qi Sect again and letting them return to their former position."

"It would be good for them, and good for us."

"Do you understand?"

As he spoke, Ziyang slowly tightened his grip on the armrest, suppressing the anger in his heart: "You are my sister; you shouldn't have to suffer such grievance. I can't stand it."

"And what about Hongze? Just leave it to those two lapdogs to manage, turning it into a place with no laws at all, where the strong bully the weak, where the weak don't even have a place to cry out for justice!" Senior Zi Xian whirled around, furious: "I can't stand it either. I'm not going back!"

"You—"

Seeing this, Crown Prince Ziyang gave a soft sigh, released the armrest, and explained gently: "You still haven't seen it clearly. The Immortal's nature has nothing to do with good or evil — he is simply derelict in his duty, unwilling to attend to matters. Since the Liangdaohuang Sect and the North Long Gong can play the lapdog, my East Long Gong can do it too — and do it better. Once I step into the Dao Realm, I can take my time and, according to our ideas, govern this stretch of land and water."

"Play the lapdog?" Senior Zi Xian's emotions flared completely. She turned back, eyes bloodshot, staring at her brother: "Have you forgotten how they turned your other sister into that vain creature, forcibly sending her up to the Immortal Court to be a mount for the so-called Immortals!"

The entire great hall fell into Tianyan Siji.

Crown Prince Ziyang stared at some empty point in a daze. Only after a long while did he slowly turn his head, looked at Senior Zi Xian, and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "You and Father both think Princess Ziling was deceived by the Hongze Immortal, eventually regretted it, and became the sort of person we despise."

He drew a deep breath: "Is it possible that she was simply consumed by greed from the start, that what she did to Xuanqing back then was only because she feared the Immortals above would investigate her origins and take a dislike to her, causing her to be rejected? So this beast, before leaving, planned to ruin Xuanqing's reputation?"

"And her being with Xuanqing wasn't out of love either — she simply thought this young man was dazzling enough to carry her up to the heavens, to become an Immortal and ancestor?"

"Bullshit!"

Senior Zi Xian rushed to the throne and clawed wildly at her brother's handsome face.

She was of the Purple-Bearded White Dragon clan — how could her own elder sister be a born villain? And that tale of romance that had spread throughout Hongze — how could it be so filthy!

"..."

Crown Prince Ziyang didn't stop her, only curled his lip and turned his face to the other side: "Enough, I can't out-talk you lot. But now that the West Long Wang has awakened, your plan naturally has no chance of continuing. Let's talk about this Wan Yao Dian first."

"Whether there's a chance to continue isn't for you to decide. We'll wait and see."

Senior Zi Xian instinctively shot back, then immediately came to her senses and said anxiously: "Right! Wan Yao Dian... Shen Yi!"

She had almost forgotten — this matter wasn't over yet.

With her brother present, she seemed to have transformed in an instant from that noble Lady Yushan Dragon Consort into a flustered little Miss.

"I'm leaving first."

Senior Zi Xian waved her hand and shot straight out of the inner chamber.

Ziyang quietly watched his sister's retreating back. Once she vanished from sight, he smiled with a touch of helplessness: "Shen Yi..."

He silently turned the name over in his mouth.

Well, it sounded at least like a man's name — far easier on the ears than Ji Jingxi. He might find time to meet him.

As for now—

He reached for the many jade slips and Juan Sect scrolls on the desk, and in the company of curling sandalwood incense, quietly began to read through them.

West Hong, Long Wang Hall.

Qi Shengtao's face was dark. He strode in swiftly with two Shen Zongzhu of the Liangdaohuang Sect, took his seat on the high chair, flung out his sleeve, and looked down at the assembled people: "Give this king a reasonable explanation."

The fifth son of the Qi family shuddered all over and quietly cast a glance at his second brother, who had just returned.

Qi Zhaowen's feelings at this moment were complicated to the extreme. The good news was that he had finally cleared his name of any connection with Wan Yao Dian. If he had the strength to wipe out the Yue family's Grand Elder, why would he need to resort to schemes and plots to fight for the position of Crown Prince?

The bad news was... the status of West Long Gong in this stretch of land and water seemed to have instantly become precarious.

The group of rats they had assumed, once the cover was stripped away, turned out to be a pack of tigers charging down the mountain, unstoppable!

If not for the help of Liangdaohuang Sect and the Yue family, he estimated that even his father would now be unable to eat or sleep in peace.

"On the table are letters sent from various Sect Masters."

Zi Xian slowly walked out from the crowd, equally curious about what had happened over there.

"Letters?"

The West Long Wang's eyelid twitched, and the corner of his mouth curled into a savage smile.

These lowly slaves now had the audacity to not return and report — did they truly believe West Long Gong's fortunes had declined and could no longer control them?

Once this matter was settled, he would certainly let these slaves understand exactly what consequences came from offending West Long Gong.

"Let this King see just who gave them their nerve."

Qi Shengtao withdrew his smile, swung his palm, and shattered the formations on more than ten letters. The sheets of paper floated up one after another, suspended in the air, revealing the writing on them to everyone.

Although written by over ten different hands, the contents of the letters were strikingly similar.

All of them gave a detailed account of what had happened in the field.

"A cultivator in dark robes, taking advantage of the two tigers fighting each other to settle a personal grudge, wielded a gold-patterned profound blade, transformed it into a blade-light over a thousand zhang, slew the Yue family's Clan-Protecting Grand Elder and numerous disciples, left no survivors, attempted to pursue the Wan Yao Dian disciples but failed, and took the Greedy Wolf Star Chart and departed."

"..."

The West Long Wang fell into a deathly silence.

He had considered many possibilities, but never imagined that the one who had slaughtered two scions of the Yue family was not Wan Yao Dian, but a cultivator of his own West Hong.

By such a coincidence, he had even invited this very person in.

"Father, this son truly did not know his identity! By the way, sister-in-law knows — Sect Master Xue went to ask sister-in-law..." The fifth son of the Qi family dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Where is Sect Master Xue?"

Qi Shengtao forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart — the more critical the moment, the less one could panic.

It was only that he had been in slumber for so short a time — why had West Hong become a state that even he could barely make sense of?

That was the Yue family's Clan-Protecting Grand Elder of Northern Hong Yue. Even if he took action himself, breaking through that set of treasured armor would still require some effort and claws — yet such a person had been slaughtered so casually by some unknown nobody.

Moreover, although he would not fully believe the news these Sect Masters had sent back, according to what was described above, after killing the Yue family people, this dark-robed cultivator had actually intended to make a move against Wan Yao Dian as well.

Offending both the Yue family and Wan Yao Dian in one go without fear — could such a being truly be cultivated by West Hong's resources?!

"Sister-in-law, Father is asking you a question."

Qi Zhaowen reminded her in a low voice.

"Ah."

Zi Xian only then came back to herself from her daze.

Although she had already had some mental preparation, upon truly discovering that all of these deeds were the work of Shen Yi alone, her mind still went somewhat blank.

In the simplest of words lay a brutality that the purple-whiskered white dragon clan could hardly imagine.

Over a dozen Calamity Qilins, ranging from late Heavenly Realm to Bai Yujing... one must remember that this group had not known Shen Yi at all before coming. They came seeking revenge against Wan Yao Dian, not against Nanhongqi Sect.

Moreover, the root cause was that Shen Yi had first slaughtered their juniors.

Just to guard against accidents, this Shen Zongzhu had struck ruthlessly, leaving no survivors.

Such a way of doing things was clearly something Zi Xian was not quite used to — she could not at all reconcile it with the young man in her mind who was somewhat cold in temperament but reserved and courteous.

No wonder Jingxi had deliberately reminded her...

Probably only the people of Nanhongqi Sect knew just how terrifying the true face of this Shen Sect Master truly was.

"I'm asking you a question! Where is Sect Master Xue!"

Seeing this woman play the fool, the two Sect Masters of Liangdaohuang Sect finally could not help but rebuke her in low voices.

"What are you yelling about?"

Zi Xian rubbed her ample chest and glared over: "His mouth was filthy, so my brother had him detained. Anyone not happy about it can go to Lady Yushan and ask my brother for him!"

At these words, everyone present was shocked.

The two Sect Masters of Liangdaohuang Sect swallowed hard, momentarily unable to process it.

Even the West Long Wang was stunned for a long while before finally showing a delighted smile: "Ziyang has come to West Hong? Why didn't you tell this King in advance?"

With the help of this Crown Prince of East Long Gong, and the vast power he represented, one could say that unless the master of Wan Yao Dian was Hongze Daxian, no matter what, they could not stir up any real trouble.

"Even if Crown Prince Ziyang came in person, how could he detain our Sect Master of Liangdaohuang Sect?"

Situ Fuhai narrowed his eyes slightly, but still stepped forward.

"It wasn't me who detained him — if you have objections, go ask him yourself." Zi Xian rolled her eyes, giving the other party no face at all: "Oh right, he also said that besides Xue Yan, until the matter of Wan Yao Dian is cleared up, you two must also be ready to take orders at any time."

Hearing this, the faces of the two Sect Masters instantly darkened.

Without the slightest hesitation, they reached for their jade slips, intending to send word to Northern Hong.

Since East Long Gong refused to reason, Liangdaohuang Sect was no soft persimmon either.

"Calm yourselves!"

Qi Shengtao finally raised his palm, using a gentle demon force to mildly restrain the two: "You are all kind-hearted, come to sweep away those fiends — let us not fall into internal strife over some misunderstanding..."

He could not be bothered with the grievances between East Long Gong and Liangdaohuang Sect; tidying up his own West Hong was what mattered most.

"Apologies, but we did not come for Wan Yao Dian."

The two Sect Masters put away their jade slips and sneered as they looked toward the West Long Wang — how could they not see that this old thing only wanted to muddle through.

"The true fiend may well be within that letter."

Earlier, a jade slip had spread like wildfire through West Hong — a cultivator wielding profound-gold blade-light had shattered the Dao weapon of a Liangdaohuang Sect disciple, which bore some resemblance to the description in that letter.

"As for that Wan Yao Dian, let's just leave it for the East Long Gong to deal with slowly."

"We shall take our leave!"

Situ Fuhai turned and walked toward the outside of the hall, but when he reached the doorway, he paused his steps: "Once we've finished our business, we will set out to return to the Northern Flood. When that time comes, if Xue Sect's Sect Master is missing so much as a single hair, the things the Yue Clan did for the clan's heaven's pride — my Liangdaohuang Sect can do the very same."

"I must ask Lady Yushan Dragon Consort to help pass along the message."

(End of chapter)