Chapter 711

The enormous hall, capable of holding tens of thousands for court assemblies, was ablaze with light.

On the mountain-shaped candlesticks, candles as thick as a child's arm made from flood dragon fat burned brightly; the air was filled with a special essence of vital blood, surging and strong, having the remarkable effect of greatly replenishing qi and blood and nourishing the flesh.

These specially made candles of flood dragon fat are tribute enjoyed by the royal family of the Great Wu Divine State, and they are extremely beneficial for body cultivators.

The cost of making these candles is extremely high, not to mention various auxiliary materials; just the main material, flood dragon fat, requires an astronomical amount of manpower and material resources to hunt these flood dragons.

Xi You walked with his hands behind his back, slowly pacing the hall, circling a huge mountain-shaped candlestand once, sniffing the vital-blood aura emitted by the candles, and let out a faint sigh: "Indeed, extravagant beyond measure—this must be the legendary Flood Dragon Blood Divine Candle?"

In the center of the hall, beneath the throne, lay a massive desk; Pei Feng sat behind it, with a large pile of processed documents on her left and another large pile of unprocessed documents stacked on her right.

She calmly looked at Xi You, heard his words, and Pei Feng smiled and nodded: "Lord Xi You, your divine eyes are like torches—this is indeed the Flood Dragon Blood Divine Candle."

Xi You nodded, moving as smoothly as flowing clouds and water, quickly walked to the desk. With his hands behind his back, he lowered his head to look down at Pei Feng seated in the grand chair, and said faintly: "King Wu, you've prospered… but a person must not forget their roots."

After sighing, Xi You said in a deep voice: "You are King Wu's close aide; you should know what King Wu relies on to have his present position."

Pei Feng pondered for a moment, her smile fading, and she said coldly, icy as frost: "What does he rely on? He relies on risking life and death, on fighting desperately on the battlefield."

Xi You furrowed his brows, interrupting her: "Wrong."

The silk ribbon tied around Xi You's brow, which had been covering his third eye, snapped; his brow eye opened, and threads of divine light shot forth, instantly filling the hall with an extraordinarily wondrous mystical power.

The void seemed to freeze, the flow of time slowed, and a strange power invaded Pei Feng, as if seeking to trace her past, scrutinize her life experiences in this lifetime, and simultaneously, in the river of fate, find all possible future trajectories of hers.

From past to present to future, it completely controlled Pei Feng in every aspect.

Pei Feng's complexion shifted slightly; the Greater and Lesser Six Ren Profound Yin Secret Demon Body spewed forth gloomy demonic flames, merging silently with her.

Pei Feng's strength instantly rose from the Embryonic Treasury Realm to the fifth heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm.

She invoked the innate divine ability of the Greater and Lesser Six Ren Profound Yin Secret Demon Body; her body and soul instantly vanished into some unfathomable Dao rhythm. Not present, not past, not future—within the three realms and five phases, the imprints of Pei Feng's past existence and possible future instantly disappeared.

In Xi You's brow divine eye, Pei Feng's figure disappeared.

His two ordinary eyes could clearly see Pei Feng's presence, but only his brow eye—this boundless, infinitely mysterious divine eye capable of scrutinizing the nine netherworlds of heaven and earth—could no longer make out Pei Feng's figure.

At first, faint blurred ripples appeared around Pei Feng; then her figure gradually grew hazy, dissipated, and finally vanished like a soap bubble in sunlight, leaving no trace.

"What a method…" Xi You silently marveled in his heart.

Shaking his head, he looked at Pei Feng and said in a deep voice: "Your words are wrong; King Wu Huo Xiong perhaps did indeed earn some merit on the battlefield, but without certain people's appreciation, without certain people giving him opportunities, could those merits alone have let him sit in his current position?"

With a cold chuckle, Xi You said faintly: "Since ancient times, countless have been willing to risk life and death on the battlefield, even to the point of leaving no remains; why is it that they did not become King Wu, while Huo Xiong became King Wu and seized a third of the realm?"

With both hands on the desk, Xi You bent forward, leaned toward Pei Feng, and said in a deep voice: "People should be grateful, cherish virtue, remember the nobles who promoted them, and not do the ungrateful thing of forgetting one's roots."

Pei Feng narrowed her eyes, dangerous black flames flickering in her pupils.

She said coldly: "Lord Xi You's meaning is that our lord has accomplished nothing, entirely relying on others' favors to achieve today's success?"

Xi You nodded, coldly: "Yes!"

Pei Feng smiled, her smile icy as a blade, concealing boundless killing intent.

She herself is a stubborn, extremely proud person.

Otherwise, how could she, back then, have withstood immense internal and external pressure, as a mere girl, leading the Black Phoenix Army to fight desperately in the southwest frontier, risking her life to expand territory, accumulate merit, striving to restore the Black Phoenix Army and her father's glory?

By nature, Pei Feng cannot tolerate these words of Xi You.

"What kind of person do you think our lord is?" Pei Feng said coldly: "He has done so many things, Lord Xi You, you surely know—leaving aside other matters, he has slain so many Divine Sovereign Realm strong enemies… I dare ask, among those nobles you speak of—whether Sima Wuyou, Sima Xian, or others—who could achieve that?"

Xi You was momentarily annoyed, and he said in a deep voice: "Without the opportunities given by Sima Wuyou and the others…"

Pei Feng snorted coldly: "To kill, must one also be given an opportunity? Xi You, have you gotten something wrong?"

Pei Feng suddenly rose to her feet, both hands slamming the desk with a loud 'bang', emitting a terrifying roar.

Around them, the void bubbled with strange distortions as immensely powerful beings violently burst into the hall sealed by Xi You's divine-eye mystical power. From the void came muffled cracking sounds—an omen that Xi You's seal had been violently broken.

At least twenty Divine Sovereign Realm elders of tremendous strength burst in.

They hid in the interstices of the void using extremely mysterious means, without revealing their forms, but any slight movement by Xi You would surely provoke their frantic assault.

They are the Three Corpse avatars of the Wu tribe elders who guard the Wu tribe's ancestral temple.

Having cultivated Three Corpse avatars, the Wu tribe elders' cultivation greatly increased; whether their main bodies or the avatars, their cultivation has risen by at least two heavens compared to before.

The avatars of the twenty Divine Sovereign Realm elders: even the weakest possess the fourth heaven of the Divine Sovereign Realm, while the strongest have reached the seventh heaven of that realm.

If the twenty join forces, even if Xi You carries the mysterious Wu tribe's 'sage bloodline', with his current cultivation he would surely be beaten into a pulp.

After Xi You attained the Divine Sovereign Realm, he gained a mysterious and unfathomable ability of divination and foreknowledge.

He sensed the deadly killing intent coming from the void, took a deep breath, and stepped back.

Outside the hall came orderly, heavy footsteps; at least a thousand Wu tribe youths, commanding over a hundred thousand Wuguo imperial guards, rushed in and surrounded the hall. From the sky came the deep rumble unique to power furnaces—enough to have tens of thousands of standard warships hover, sealing the entire Iron Cauldron Mountain City.

Today's Wu Tie, today's Pei Feng, and the power they wield are in no way comparable to what Wu Tie was when he returned from the Great Marsh Prefecture to the Great Jin Divine State back then.

If we say, the Wu Tie who had just returned from the Great Marsh Prefecture to the Great Jin was merely a somewhat stronger tiger.

Now, Wu Tie has transformed from a tiger into an ancient giant dragon soaring the nine heavens.

His personal strength, his forces—how could they have increased by less than a thousandfold?

Xi You still views Wu Tie and Pei Feng etc. with the outdated perspective of when Wu Tie was the Duke of Yu Province back then; undoubtedly, he is mistaken.

However, Xi You's mistakes in this life are not limited to this one; he has made many greater errors… perhaps he will continue to err repeatedly—only heaven knows.

Pei Feng's eyes spewed black demonic flames, and her whole body exuded a terrifying yin-cold demonic aura.

Pei Feng gazed grimly at Xi You and said coldly: "Xi You, our lord rose in the Blood Banner Contention battle, risking his life to obtain his fortune. This is not a gift from Sima Wuyou and the others, but something our lord fought for with his life."

"When we went to the Great Marsh Prefecture, the Sima royal clan treated our lord unfairly—this point, how dare you deny it?"

"In the Great Marsh Prefecture, facing various blows, our lord used his own life and a bit of luck to carve out a path of survival… how much help did those nobles you mention actually give him? Perhaps some; he brought back the Great Jin's Imperial Jade Seal, which is already enough to compensate, even more than enough."

"Afterward, in Anyang City, who knows what nonsense your so-called nobles were up to? But did our lord have any fault toward them? He stubbornly resisted the Linghu clan, doing how much for those nobles you speak of?"

"Sima Wuyou threw up his hands, abandoned countless subjects of the realm, who knows what conspiracies he's scheming now. Our lord has done right by him. Otherwise, the First Army, and those generals and troops under his command—could they have been preserved?"

"In this matter, our lord faced tremendous danger and bore a blood‑sea‑like responsibility; it is you who owe our lord, not our lord who owes you."

"Afterward, in the Qingqiu Divine State, can it even be said that he served for Linghu Qingqing? Our lord, for the people of the world, resisted foreign enemies and slew the Divine Sovereign Realm elders of enemy states—this is defending the home and country, a righteous deed to pacify the realm."

"Does this require you to give him an opportunity?"

Péi Fèng, sharp‑tongued and unyielding when she's in the right, spat at Xī Yáo: "Are you… taking yourselves too seriously?"

She shook her head, Péi Fèng said coldly: "My lord is a proper martial prince. He is not your lackey."

Péi Fèng saw through Xī Yáo's intent at a glance, so she would give him no chance, absolutely not letting him gain any moral advantage.

Xī Yáo pondered for a moment, then shook his head and shouted sternly: "Flattery and deceit, nonsense and wrangling. I only know that Huó Xióng and the whole Huó family are merely dogs of the Sīmǎ clan… and if you're a dog, you must have the resolve of a dog."

Xī Yáo bellowed: "As a dog, if the master lets him eat meat, he must eat meat… if the master lets him eat…"

Black fire flashed in Péi Fèng's hand, a black spear wreathed in demonic flame sprang forth from nowhere, a thread of cold light shooting from its tip and stabbing straight at Xī Yáo's throat.

Péi Fèng had been by Wu Tie's side for many years as well.

Old Tie, that old monster, had long since subtly imparted his spear techniques and some of his killing skills to Péi Fèng.

Thus, as Péi Fèng thrust her spear, killing intent rose throughout the hall, and a horribly tragic tiger's roar echoed from nowhere, as if millions of soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield, simultaneously thrusting a heaven‑defying, desperate spear into the sky.

Xī Yáo's mind was instantly shaken by the spear's intent; he widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the point of cold light rushing at him, and for a moment his whole body went rigid, unable to move.

It wasn't just the killing intent inherent in the spear's glow; it was also because this thrust was too fast.

Having discarded all interference and broken every restraint, this was a straight thrust from Péi Fèng's hand, its sole purpose being "Xī Yáo's death."

The aim of this thrust was "Xī Yáo's death."

There was no interference, no detour; from the moment it appeared it followed the straightest, shortest trajectory straight to the target, inevitably delivering "Xī Yáo's death" to him.

The spear's gleam instantly reached in front of Xī Yáo's throat.

At that life‑and‑death juncture, a burst of divine light exploded from the vertical eye between Xī Yáo's brows; a thread of blood trickled down beneath his divine eye, he let out a hoarse, exhausted roar, and his body shifted backward three feet in an instant.

It was those three feet that meant life or death.

Xī Yáo threw his head back, and the spear's gleam grazed the tip of his nose.

A soft "hiss" sounded as a thin thread of black fire on the spear scorched his nose, burning the tip to ash in an instant.

Severe pain struck, and Xī Yáo bellowed loudly; he finally broke free of the terrifying shock from that thrust, his body regaining its ability to move, he staggered back a few steps, then, furious and ashamed, he formed seals with both hands and struck out toward Péi Fèng.

"Collapse!"

Xī Yáo shouted loudly.

This is the primeval witch‑curse art: the simplest incantation, the simplest hand seal, directly tapping the most mysterious boundless force between heaven and earth, its method akin to "the operation of Heaven's Way," possessing unimaginably formidable destructive power.

This is an innate divine ability of the Xi clan; when wielded by Xi Yáo, who bears sage blood, its power exceeds that of an ordinary Xi clansperson at the Divine Manifestation realm by more than tenfold.

The void around Péi Fèng violently trembled, shattering with a piercing crack.

Just as Péi Fèng was about to be torn apart by the collapsing void, a dusty gray bone ring appeared out of nowhere beside her, rapidly expanding and emitting a dim, gloomy sinister qi that enveloped her body, forcibly smoothing out the shattered void.

"This Xi brat is useless… utterly useless." The attacking Wu clan elder transmitted mentally to his brothers in the void.

"He's useless, eloping with his sister and causing her death, never mentioning it… now he's arrogant and domineering, bullying outsiders at will." Another Wu clan elder sighed: "These years, why does the Xi clan keep producing such trash? Each of them has nose and eyes growing on the top of their heads, really thinking highly of themselves."

"Heh heh, the Xi clan is still impressive… at least for now our Wu clan isn't a match for them. Well, give us a few more years and that might change." Another Wu clan elder chuckled coldly: "This kid… uh, heh heh?"

"Drive them out." Several Wu clan elders cursed in unison: "Péi Fèng this girl is a perfect match for our little Tie—she absolutely cannot be harmed at his whim."

In the void, six dusty gray figures appeared simultaneously and launched a united punch that slammed into Xi Yáo's body.

No matter whether Xi Yáo bears the Xi clan's sage blood, no matter how great his talent or terrifying his potential, at this moment he is only at the first tier of the Divine Manifestation realm, whereas the six Wu clan elders who struck are each at the sixth tier or higher of that realm.

The six struck as one; Xi Yáo's clothes burst apart, a mouthful of old blood mixed with viscera fragments sprayed far away, and before the blood could hit the ground it was vaporized by the terrifying force.

Xi Yáo shot out like a cannonball, flying straight from the hall through the doors and slamming head‑first into a huge iron cauldron several thousand zhang away.

A tremendous boom rang out; the iron cauldron was burst open with a huge hole, and Xi Yáo tumbled to the ground, leaving a large stain of blood.

Dozens of Wu clan youths brandishing broadswords and axes charged forward, hacking and slashing at Xi Yáo.

Xi Yáo let out a strange, upward‑howl: "Huó Xióng, Péi Fèng, you'd better wait!"

He slapped the ground with both hands and vanished outright.