Chapter 1143: Committing Violence in Public

Outside the main gate of the Artifact Sect, dozens of Artifact Sect cultivators stood motionless with bowed heads and lowered brows, their faces filled with apprehension.

Xu Que had already instructed that anyone who dared speak out of turn would be dealt with immediately.

Although no one knew exactly what "dealt with" entailed, the earlier punishment where three Artifact Emperors had nearly been beaten to a pulp by Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude clearly exerted significant deterrence over them.

Of course, the most critical factor remained Mo Junchen; even this Great Ability had concealed his aura and had no intention of revealing himself immediately, making it obvious he wanted to see just how murky and chaotic the Artifact Sect had become—if they dared step forward to warn Artifact Emperor Liu, wouldn't that be opposing Mo Junchen?

Thus, with the Artifact Sect's main gate still unopened, no one dared make any rash moves, fearing they would be accused of tipping someone off; after all, they had witnessed firsthand the terrifying prowess of the Explosive Heaven Gang's three great bluffers!

"All of you listen carefully to This Divine Venerable: in a moment, none of you are allowed to speak, and even if you do speak, you must be extremely careful, otherwise..." Er Gouzi added another warning, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.

"Otherwise, we'll beat you to a pulp!" Duan Jiude eagerly supplemented, his tone very serious.

"Yes!" The many Artifact Sect cultivators responded in unison; they were not afraid of Duan Jiude or Er Gouzi, but rather, after Guardian Mo had swept his gaze over them just now, who would dare not respond!

The waiting time was not long.

In merely a moment, the Artifact Sect's heavy Black Iron main gate was pushed open with a loud "Boom—"

A man with a slightly pale complexion stepped out, possessing an extraordinary aura; a cold and unrestrained smile spread across his face, and his cultivation had reached the Golden Immortal Realm Mid-Stage, though he appeared somewhat weak, seeming even inferior to someone at the Golden Immortal Realm Early Stage; behind him followed several Artifact Sect cultivators, all strong ones at the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

"Hahaha, excellent! You few have handled matters quite efficiently, actually managing to capture the person alive; I will surely reward you later!" The pale-faced man swept his gaze over Xu Que, immediately recognizing him, and burst into loud laughter.

It had been over two years, yet the hatred in his heart had never dissipated; back then, Xu Que had seemed like a small insect he could crush at any moment, yet in the end, this little insect had not only killed many strong members of his Zhen Yuan Immortal Realm Artifact Sect branch but had also injured him with an explosion.

This was a humiliation, a massive humiliation!

Now that he finally had the chance to wash away this shame, how could he not be delighted?

However, no matter how loudly Artifact Emperor Liu laughed, none of the Artifact Sect cultivators outside the gate dared to respond; they all kept their heads lowered, their faces bitter.

Artifact Emperor Liu, however, focused all his attention on Xu Que, and with his mind set on revenge, he temporarily paid no heed to the strange behavior of the crowd, sneering coldly: "Xu Que, do you still remember This Seat?"

"Uh, to be honest, I really don't remember!" Xu Que said with an awkward expression.

During that battle back then, he had never actually seen Artifact Emperor Liu show his face; even when Liu had finally charged at him, Xu Que had already activated an Immortal Grade Divine Movement Escape Talisman and slipped into the Void Tunnel, so he had never seen the other party's appearance at all.

"You... Hmph, very well! On my Artifact Sect's territory, you still dare to be so presumptuous; today, I will definitely make you wish you were dead rather than alive." Artifact Emperor Liu gritted his teeth in anger; he wished he could rush up right now and slap Xu Que to death, but thinking that ending Xu Que's life so easily would be too cheap for this lad, he immediately restrained himself.

"Hmm, wish I were dead rather than alive? Great, great! Hurry up and make me wish I were dead rather than alive!" At this moment, Xu Que glanced at Mo Junchen with a half-smile, then assumed a shamelessly cheeky expression and spoke to Artifact Emperor Liu.

Artifact Emperor Liu instantly froze, unable to process what was happening.

In such a situation, shouldn't an ordinary person beg for mercy? Even someone with a hard backbone would directly utter threats, seeking a quick death!

But what was this lad's situation? Not only was he begging to be made to wish he were dead rather than alive, but his eyes were also full of approval, and even a hint of encouragement?

However, this confusion could not stop the burning desire for revenge in Artifact Emperor Liu's heart; thinking no further, he waved his hand broadly and shouted to his subordinates: "Bring the person up!"

Immediately afterward, a strong one at the Earth Immortal Realm from behind escorted a woman out from behind the main gate.

The woman's appearance caused many present to change their expressions instantly.

They all knew this woman had been captured by Artifact Emperor Liu's orders, and they also knew what her fate would be, yet they had all pretended not to see; but now the situation was different—Guardian Mo was here "incognito," and Artifact Emperor Liu was bringing this woman out right in front of Mo Junchen; this was simply inviting destruction!

Even the three Artifact Emperors standing in front of Xu Que were now secretly shaking their heads internally, feeling that Artifact Emperor Liu was definitely doomed today.

"Hahaha, Xu Que, it doesn't matter if you don't recognize me, but you must recognize this little bitch, right?" At this moment, Artifact Emperor Liu yanked the woman in front of him and sneered wildly at Xu Que with an arrogant face.

Xu Que froze; after examining the woman carefully for a few breaths, he was suddenly shocked: "Miss Feng, you... how could you be here?"

Clearly, he did indeed recognize this woman; it was Feng Lanwu, whom he had met when he first arrived in the Zhen Yuan Immortal Realm, the Second Miss of the He Feng Chamber of Commerce; later, having gotten himself into some trouble, he hadn't gone to disturb her again, never expecting to meet her here.

Eh, wait, that's not right; judging by her appearance, Feng Lanwu had clearly been captured by Artifact Emperor Liu!

"F... Fellow Daoist Xu, I..." Feng Lanwu spoke a few words with a trembling voice, then didn't know what else to say.

Her current condition was not good; she had been captured for over ten days, and before being captured, she had been injured, wounds that still hadn't healed; although Artifact Emperor Liu hadn't done anything to her temporarily during this period, she knew what fate awaited her.

But she couldn't blame Xu Que for any of this; back when Xu Que was being pursued, she and her maid Xiao Ru had kept the secret, never daring to mention to anyone that they knew Xu Que.

Even later, when Xu Que and the Explosive Heaven Gang became famous throughout the four directions, they hadn't used this matter to seek creation opportunities for the He Feng Chamber of Commerce; until one day, they participated in a Secret Realm Trial, hoping to find some rare materials to bring back to the chamber for auction, thereby increasing the chamber's foundation and reputation.

However, a Secret Realm is destined to have dangers, and the most dangerous element is often the other people participating in the Secret Realm Trial.

They had found a rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, but as a result, they were pursued; finally, with no way out, Feng Lanwu had been forced to reveal the fact that she knew Xu Que, thereby successfully bluffing the pursuers and escaping with her life.

But once this secret was spoken, it was destined it could not be hidden; with so many people and so much talk, before she even had time to leave the Secret Realm, she was captured alive by people from the Artifact Sect and brought directly to the Xuan Yi Immortal Domain.

So facing such an ordeal, apart from accepting her bad luck, she had no one to blame.

If she hadn't revealed her acquaintance with Xu Que, she would have been suppressed and killed by others who would seize the Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure; yet having revealed the truth, she was captured by the Artifact Sect's people—this was truly a helpless situation.

"Haha, how about it, Xu Que? This little bitch is so beautiful; you must have feelings for her, right? What a pity, what a pity! Now that both of you have fallen into my hands, you are destined to have fate but no destiny together!" At this moment, Artifact Emperor Liu stared at Xu Que and said with a mocking smile.

But the dozens of Artifact Sect cultivators surrounding Xu Que, including the three Artifact Emperors, now had faces full of terror; they knew that Artifact Emperor Liu was truly going to be completely doomed this time.

Everyone's peripheral vision remained fixed on the changes in Mo Junchen's expression; although he had concealed his cultivation aura, his face, gloomy as ink, was enough to make everyone's hearts tremble and their spines run cold.

At the same time, after hearing Artifact Emperor Liu's words, Feng Lanwu's whole body trembled, her face becoming even paler, and she glared at Artifact Emperor Liu in anger: "You, a dignified Artifact Emperor of the Artifact Sect, yet your conduct is so despicable and vulgar; you are unworthy of being an Artifact Emperor—if you have the guts, just kill me."

"Kill you? Haha, don't worry; after I display my masculine prowess in front of that little bastard surnamed Xu, naturally I will kill you!" Artifact Emperor Liu smiled coldly.

"This bastard..." At this moment, Mo Junchen finally could not endure it any longer; he cursed angrily in a low voice and prepared to make his move.

"Guardian Mo, don't be in such a hurry; wait a moment!" However, Xu Que reached out to stop Mo Junchen, his face full of an amused smile.

Mo Junchen instantly froze: "Guild Master Xu, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend to watch him commit violence?"

Xu Que shook his head slightly, smiling without speaking.

Meanwhile, Artifact Emperor Liu's face was already full of arrogance; he laughed wildly, feeling stimulated and agitated, his vitality surging, his kidneys surging, and his liver also surging.

But in an instant, the entire arena fell deathly silent; everyone widened their eyes, staring at him in a daze.

Artifact Emperor Liu also realized something was wrong; lowering his head slightly to look, his entire face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver.