Chapter 230: The Ethereal and Radiant Immortal Lord of the Clouds

Where clouds and mist swirled, Ajin wore a calm expression, as if accustomed to this, walking on his own without being lost in the ethereal clouds and smoke all around.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally stopped, knelt on one knee toward the front, and folded his hands in a salute.

"The Cat Spirit of Xishan pays respects to the Divine Lord."

Yet there was no response from ahead, only a expanse of mist permeating the air, rolling or gathering, changing incessantly. Ajin did not seem anxious, merely bowing his head to wait.

After a long while, a voice drifted from the clouds: "Yo! Isn't this Xuanji? What made you think of coming to me? Don't tell me that old thing Dongwanggong sent you?"

The tone was extremely arrogant, and the voice was as faint and elusive as the clouds and mist.

Ajin nodded slightly without answering, remaining respectfully on his knees. At this moment, the voice from the clouds came again.

"Aiya! Thousands of years have passed, and you still haven't attained the Dao?" He sighed deeply, as if in pity, though his words were filled with extreme flippancy: "That old ghost Taiyi is truly not a decent thing; he enlightened you, yet insisted on creating some Eight-Tail Tribulation. I imagine there aren't many of your clansmen left on the righteous path."

Ajin still did not answer, only burying his head lower.

"Forget it, forget it. After all, you are a servant of your master, so I won't make things difficult for you. Get up!"

Hearing this, Ajin prostrated himself, spoke words of thanks, and stood up. Just as he steadied himself, the voice in the clouds turned sarcastic again.

"You are quite capable; I hid so thoroughly, yet you still managed to find me."

Upon hearing this, Ajin immediately bowed: "This little demon dares not deceive you. Being able to find the Divine Lord this time is entirely thanks to the guidance of Linghua Fairy."

"What?" The voice in the clouds rose sharply, as if in disbelief or extreme fury; the patch of clouds suddenly shifted, accompanied by bursts of thunder and lightning, and began to churn wildly.

Before long, a person rushed out from the lightning and thunder. That person was wrapped in brocade silk, with flowing light overflowing; the jade pendants on his body chimed in harmony like celestial music. With a high-piled cloud-like bun and skin like congealed fat, beneath a delicate nose was a pursed mouth. At this moment, he was gnashing his teeth, and as soon as he appeared, he roared at Ajin:

"That dead girl Yaoji sold me out again? She really is something; if she isn't going against me for a single day, she can't find peace!" He glared at Ajin, "Go back and tell your master, if he refuses to admit his mistake, don't even think about me going back!"

He leaned back angrily, and the cloud-silk on his body seemed to come alive, immediately moving to support him.

This person was none other than the master of Yunmeng Marsh, Yunzhongjun!

Facing such an irritable Yunzhongjun, Ajin could only smile helplessly and bow again: "This little demon did not come here under the orders of Dongwanggong, but was entrusted by someone to protect a person's safety. Right now, they are in Yunmeng Marsh."

Hearing this, Yunzhongjun only half-opened his eyes, glanced at Ajin, and dismissed him in an extremely lazy tone: "Ah~ you mean those little ghosts? Fine, I know, go back!"

Ajin seemed to have anticipated Yunzhongjun's reaction, merely raising the corner of his mouth before saying slowly: "One of them is a descendant of Tumi."

Hearing this, Yunzhongjun hurriedly straightened his body: "Tumi? That little girl has descendants?"

Ajin did not say more, merely bowing his body to show affirmation. Seeing this, Yunzhongjun stood up at once, bared his teeth, and his expression suddenly turned sinister.

Good, very good. That little girl played me for a fool before, and now that her descendant has fallen into my territory, isn't it up to me to mold and shape them as I please?

……

Facing the roar of the behemoth before her, Lingxiang truly had no confidence, but as Long Qi said, escape was impossible, and now all she could do was leave it to fate.

Lingxiang never expected that her obsession would implicate others; she had never thought that anyone would die because of her, and she would never commit such an act against her conscience.

If possible, she would rather her Spirit Root remain broken like this.

She regretted it!

But it was too late for regrets now!

With swords drawn and bows bent, just as a fight was about to break out and Long Qi was drawing his sword, a loud shout suddenly came from the horizon:

"Wait, wait! Show mercy under the sword!"

Even amidst the continuous roars of Xiangliu, this voice was clearly audible, though it was too ethereal to distinguish between male and female. It was precisely because of this loud shout that the Xiangliu before them all fell silent at once.

The three looked up and saw a cloud of auspiciousness drifting down from the cloudy sky, filled with seven-colored mist and ten thousand zhang of rosy light.

When the auspicious clouds descended and the mist dissipated, everyone finally saw the person clearly, though his attire was very strange, looking like the figures in the cave paintings, and behind him was...

"Ajin!"

Lingxiang exclaimed.

She had found it strange when she heard he was going to visit an old friend, wondering how he could have an old friend, and in Yunmeng Marsh at that; now it seemed she had been too shallow.

But what kind of strange old friend was this!

Although Yunzhongjun appeared calm on the surface, he was grumbling inwardly: That girl Tumi was a bit mischievous, but she knew when to stop and was still considered well-behaved; her descendant, on the other hand, actually lured Xiangliu out.

He had spent so much effort to keep it hidden safely for these thousands of years!

And this sword...

"Ahem!" Yunzhongjun gave a dry cough, signaling Ajin to speak, but Ajin acted as if it had nothing to do with him, merely standing with his hands folded, not saying a word.

Is he trying to make things difficult for me on purpose?

Yunzhongjun was displeased, but there was nothing he could do for the moment, so he had to speak himself: "You mortals, why do you trespass into Yunmeng and disturb my peace?"

Hmm! That was a good tone to strike!

Hearing this, how could Lingxiang not know who the person was? What she didn't expect was that Ajin actually had connections with such a high god.

However, Lingxiang felt no fear, merely soothing Long Qi, who was gripping Longyuan tightly, before stepping forward to perform a salute.

"May the High God forgive me. Trespassing into the immortal realm is indeed our fault, but I truly cannot agree with the charge of disturbing the High God's peace." As Lingxiang spoke, she pointed behind Yunzhongjun, "I fear it is this demon beast that is troubling the Divine Lord? Why not let this humble cultivator slay this demon for the Divine Lord to atone for our sin of trespassing."

Lingxiang had previously found it strange why a fierce god who should have died in the ancient era would appear in Yunmeng Marsh; now it seemed it was definitely the handiwork of Yunzhongjun. Although she did not know the reason, it must have been him who kept Xiangliu safe.

As soon as Long Qi drew his sword, Yunzhongjun appeared to stop him, which meant he must have had some reservations about the Seven-Star Longyuan.

Since that was the case, there was no need to fear Yunzhongjun.

Moreover, Ajin was there, and he had given no hints until now; it seemed Yunzhongjun was not someone difficult to deal with.

Furthermore, whether the existence of Xiangliu aligned with the Heavenly Dao was truly unknown!

Yunzhongjun did not expect that the little girl who looked the most mediocre would actually dare to threaten him openly.

However, there was something familiar about the girl's brows and eyes; it seemed she was indeed the descendant of Tumi.

Hmph! So young, yet so arrogant. Truly, dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a nest of rats will know how to dig holes.

Yunzhongjun grumbled to himself but kept a straight face, following Lingxiang's lead: "Forget it, forget it. How could this god lower myself to your level?"

But Lingxiang was unwilling to let it go: "Could it be that the Divine Lord looks down on this humble cultivator? I am untalented, and although my cultivation is low, I hold a divine weapon and will certainly be able to restore peace to the Divine Lord!"

What a joke. She had come here specifically for the Xiangliu Poison Fang, and now that she had finally encountered it, if she let it go just like that, wouldn't the suffering have been in vain?

A moment ago she was so afraid she regretted it, yet now she is already scheming again; human nature, indeed!

Forget about it!

Lingxiang said, poking Long Qi. Long Qi was still struggling with whether the person before him was a man or a woman, but upon receiving Lingxiang's signal, he immediately raised his sword and pinched his fingers, making a move to unleash his flying sword.

And when Yunzhongjun heard this, his eyes widened instantly—the little brat, how dare she push her luck?

Just as he was about to lash out, he heard a crisp sound of bells coming from the forest.

"I fear it is that Divine Lord Pingyi is unwilling to part with it!"