Chapter 158

Su Mu said lightly: "Marquis, your gaze is like lightning; can you not even see through whether I have achieved Ghost Immortal?"

Hong Xuanji just smiled and said: "You came down the mountain this time to deal with the Eight Great Demon Immortals and the two evil sects, Martial Saint and Vacuum, right? It's just that the Eight Great Demon Immortals are all fierce and overbearing, and the Martial Saint and Vacuum sects are elusive.

You are alone; if you are targeted by them, I fear it will be more ominous than auspicious.

I will give you a token, and you can go to my mansion to mobilize fifty Mo Dao Guards, fifty crossbow guards, and fifty iron cavalry guards.

These people are all experts who have followed me in battle for many years, all having crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their will as firm as iron; even a Ghost Immortal would not be able to confuse them, and evil arts would be even more useless."

As he spoke, Hong Xuanji raised his hand, and a crimson-gold token stood upright on the table.

The front of the gold medal was carved with a lifelike Qilin, and the back had the word "Order" written in iron-hook and silver-stroke calligraphy.

Su Mu just glanced at it lightly and said: "What a good word 'Order', full of murderous intent, but Marquis, you should take it back. My Supreme Dao has been passed down to this day and has its own foundation; it does not need the Marquis to protect it."

As she spoke, she pressed the table, and the gold medal flew toward Hong Xuanji.

Su Mu continued: "Also, I am not Meng Bingyun, so you don't need to have designs on me. Back then, Meng Bingyun chose you; it was her poor judgment. I believe my judgment is far above hers."

Hong Xuanji caught the token, a flash of brilliance in his eyes, as if interested: "Oh, who have you set your sights on?"

One must say, Hong Xuanji was still very charming.

Relying on his outstanding appearance and extraordinary talent, he had once captivated many heavenly maidens of major sects.

For example, the Supreme Dao Saintess Meng Bingyun, who broke her cultivation for him and was willing to enter the Marquis's mansion as a concubine;

For example, the Daluo Sect Master Zhao Feier, who gave birth to a daughter for Hong Xuanji;

For example, the Yaochi Sect leader Yao Qinghui, who gave birth to two daughters for Hong Xuanji.

Although he was middle-aged, Hong Xuanji's charm did not decrease but increased, which was why he had designs on Su Mu, wanting to drag another Supreme Dao Saintess into the water to deal with Meng Shenji.

Although he said he was not afraid, in reality, he was only a peak Martial Saint.

And Meng Shenji was a Creator who had undergone seven thunder tribulations and was preparing to undergo the eighth; how could he contend with him?

In fact, with Hong Xuanji's talent, he should have achieved Human Immortal long ago.

Even a high-level Human Immortal, or even a peak Human Immortal.

It was just that he broke Meng Bingyun's Dao and also planted a heart demon in his own heart.

In the original work, it was only after Hong Yi began to show his brilliance that Hong Xuanji burned Meng Bingyun's painting, thereby breaking the heart demon, becoming a Human Immortal overnight, and then leaving everyone behind.

But now Hong Yi had been warned by Yin Qi to hide his strength no matter what, and until now, he was still a non-entity in the Marquis Wuwen's mansion.

Su Mu did not hide it: "Yin Qi."

"Yin Qi!"

Hong Xuanji chuckled, shook his head and said: "It's actually him; it seems your judgment isn't that great either. This person can be considered to have extraordinary talent, cultivating to the marrow refining stage at only sixteen, on par with you. But compared to a true heavenly pride, he is still far behind; even the Champion Marquis cannot compare."

The Champion Marquis achieved Martial Saint at fifteen; was he not the same back then?

Otherwise, how could he have gained the favor of so many heavenly maidens, even to the point of being willing to be concubines or lovers?

Su Mu said lightly: "Who said he is only at the marrow refining stage?"

Hong Xuanji's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?"

Su Mu revealed a smile, like a hundred flowers blooming.

But this smile still contained no emotion, and she said lightly: "This person is already a Martial Saint, but he practiced a method to conceal his aura, so even the Marquis misjudged him. And he is not just a martial artist; his essays are also written beautifully, and even passing the imperial examination is not a difficult task."

"What, a Martial Saint!"

At this moment, Hong Xuanji finally could not hold it together.

He achieved Martial Saint at fifteen, and the Champion Marquis was also fifteen; Yin Qi was already sixteen.

Logically speaking, their aptitude was superior to Yin Qi's.

But that's not how you calculate it.

Back then, he was a heavenly pride of the Daluo Sect, receiving the full cultivation of the Daluo Sect, with famous teachers, divine arts, secret scriptures, and secret medicines, lacking nothing.

The Champion Marquis was the Emperor's illegitimate son, and he also lacked nothing.

But what about Yin Qi?

He was just a concubine-born son, and his main profession was reading.

His martial arts were all practiced in secret, let alone any guidance from famous teachers or cultivation secret medicines.

Yet even so, the other party was able to cultivate to Martial Saint.

This was somewhat heaven-defying.

If Hong Xuanji knew that Yin Qi had been practicing martial arts for less than half a year, I fear it would not be a loss of composure, but a mental breakdown.

The reason he possessed a mindset that looked down on the world was his martial arts talent.

At that time, only the Champion Marquis could compare.

Even Meng Shenji back then was far inferior to him in martial arts talent.

Hong Xuanji's gaze was like lightning, and his voice sank: "Was Yin Qi cultivated by Brother Shenji?"

Su Mu shook her head: "No. The Sect Master has observed Yin Qi from afar and was also shocked when he discovered he was a Martial Saint, thinking he was cultivated by some hidden expert. But after investigation, it was found that there was no expert behind him. The strongest people he had contact with were just Bai Ziyue and Yuan Fei. I wonder what the Marquis thinks of this person compared to yourself?"

Hong Xuanji snorted coldly and said: "He is the son of the Duke of Yin; compared to the ethereal future Sect Master of the Supreme Dao, I think he might value fame and power more."

Su Mu said lightly: "In that case, we shall each rely on our own means."

Hong Xuanji said no more, stood up, and left.

Brilliance flickered in his eyes as he pondered Su Mu's intentions; it was impossible for her to tell him this for no reason.

Yin Qi being a Martial Saint was too significant a piece of news.

For Great Gan, although a young Grandmaster was rare, they were not lacking.

But a young Martial Saint was a completely different matter.

"Either Yin Qi has already been won over by Meng Shenji, and they don't fear the imperial court's recruitment, and even want to cultivate Yin Qi into a mole for the Supreme Dao in the imperial court; or it is just bluffing, using the imperial court's suspicion to provoke Yin Qi."

As for what Su Mu said about Yin Qi not being cultivated by Meng Shenji, he was skeptical.

Because he was also a young Martial Saint, and he knew better the difficulty of achieving Martial Saint.

Logically speaking, no one could easily cultivate into a Martial Saint without various resources.

This was not a legend, but a myth.

Of course, it was also possible that Yin Qi truly had no one behind him.

But did he and the Emperor dare to gamble?

This matter still needed to be reported to His Majesty.

Just as Hong Xuanji walked out of the small building, he saw Yin Qi following behind an arrogant servant, walking toward him.

Yin Qi was slightly stunned and cupped his hands in a salute: "Greetings, Marquis."

Hong Xuanji nodded slightly and said lightly: "No need for formalities; are you here to see Miss Su Mu?"

Yin Qi nodded and said: "Yes, invited here."

Hong Xuanji smiled and said: "Yesterday I saw His Majesty, and His Majesty also mentioned preparing to marry Princess Linglong to you, and also intended to confer upon you the title of Earl of Longxiang. Once you perform meritorious service on the battlefield, you will be able to be conferred as a Marquis directly."