Chapter 769: Extra Chapter 4: 6

News from Suedi comes back in waves every two hours.

When Xiao Jiu heard that Liu Junyan had been struck by a heavenly lightning bolt, she felt heartbroken.

But upon hearing that the steward of the Xu family among the three great clans had fled, she knew her decision not to chase after Suedi was correct.

At that moment, it was already deep night.

The gate of Yin Dang Hang stood open, and Xiao Jiu sat upright at the inner side of the counter, waiting patiently.

When Li Qingying learned that an outsider suspicious person had entered Wufu Town, that person was already standing on the street opposite Yin Dang Hang.

The visitor bore the surname Xu, a single given name Chun, only thirty years old, yet already held the position of authority in Suedi's third great clan.

Xiao Jiu narrowed her eyes, sizing up the man who had suddenly appeared on the street opposite Yin Dang Hang, and her expression changed instantly.

Just a quarter of an hour earlier, Elder Fang had already sent Xu Chun's personal data to Xiao Jiu.

Although the data appeared detailed on the surface, it was all just praise for Xu Chun's commercial identity; what truly caught Xiao Jiu's attention was instead the brief description of the odd tales surrounding his birth.

Xu Chun was born in early spring, when all things revive.

Born with a soft shell on his back resembling a turtle's carapace, the next day the skin on his back began to rot, spreading over his whole body; he was then buried in the earth to absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, gradually nurtured, and underwent a transformation.

Xiao Jiu fixed her gaze on Xu Chun's slightly bulging forehead, where there was a lump called the Longevity Star Bun, a sign of longevity.

But Xiao Jiu saw a mass of black qi enveloping the Longevity Star Bun.

This black qi is not ordinary evil or killing qi; it is karmic obstruction!

But Xu Chun is only thirty, his record so clean it seems unreal; how could such a person have amassed so much karmic obstruction in just thirty years?

The only possibility Xiao Jiu could think of was: Xu Chun, the mastermind behind all of this.

Put more plainly, Xu Chun is the lifesaver pulled from the old turtle's mouth!

He has returned through reincarnation, and the harvest has come!

Following this line of thought, it is easy to see that the so-called three great clans, and the turtle cores enshrined in their ancestral halls, are actually preparations for Xu Chun's reincarnated return, to steal heaven and change the sun.

When the third turtle core condenses into form and the Formation Array is completed, that will be the time to dispel the karmic obstruction sealed within Xu Chun's Longevity Star Bun.

The old turtle is long-lived and profound in Xiūwéi; Xu Chun has inherited the turtle's fate, enabling him to summon wind and rain.

Only one final step remains.

Had Liu Junyan not, in her true dragon form, blocked a heavenly lightning bolt for the old turtle today, Xu Chun could not have appeared here.

He has plenty of ways to control the old turtle.

But he happened to encounter Liu Junyan, this death-defying tough nut, and that's his bad luck.

In an instant, Xiao Jiu's mind flashed with countless schemes Xu Chun might use to persuade her, and she prepared countermeasures.

Xu Chun moved.

He stepped step by step toward the gate of Yin Dang Hang.

When he stepped one foot across the gate of Yin Dang Hang and suffered no attack from the yin soil, Xiao Jiu's heart was completely put at ease.

At first, Xiao Jiu was still calculating: with Xu Chun bearing such a heavy Longevity Star Bun of karmic obstruction, could he still be considered a normal person?

If not, he would have plenty of means to scheme against Yin Dang Hang.

Now that he has stepped one foot inside, having suffered no judgment from the yin soil, it shows he has not yet been invaded by karmic obstruction, thus he can be considered a normal person.

Then Xiao Jiu had no great reservations.

She waited for Xu Chun to make his move.

After Xu Chun entered the Dang Pu, he actually gave Xiao Jiu a slight smile: 'Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, I have long heard your great name; it rings like thunder in my ears.'

Xiao Jiu bluntly replied: 'You repay kindness with enmity, have done all evil, karmic obstruction clings to your body; Xu Chun, your retribution is coming.'

Xu Chun obviously did not expect Xiao Jiu to adopt such an attitude; his face twisted, and a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes.

But soon he concealed that killing intent, sat down on the chair before the counter by himself, and said: 'It seems Xiao Jiu Zhanggui has already seen through my schemes of the past three hundred years; speaking plainly before a wise person, yes, I truly want that old turtle's heavenly mandate—it owes me that!'

Xiao Jiu sneered: 'Do you deserve it?'

'I don't deserve it—do you think Xiao Jiu Zhanggui thinks she does?' Xu Chun remained utterly composed, showing no fear even now, and retorted, 'Or do you think Xiao Jiu Zhanggui believes that your Yin Dang Hang, which straddles yin and yang and has received a few small favors from the Earth Mother Goddess, can truly manage affairs of the upper realm?'

Xiao Jiu's heart skipped a beat: 'What do you mean?'

'Just the literal meaning.' Xu Chun glanced contemptuously around the Dang Pu, clicking his tongue, 'This place is so shabby, its setup isn't even as good as my bedroom in Suedi, yet you dare to dream of managing my affairs—truly overestimating yourself.'

Xiao Jiu said nothing, staring fixedly at Xu Chun.

Xu Chun continued: 'More than three hundred years ago, that old turtle was on the verge of ascension; its cultivation and Merit over its whole body, over these three hundred years, I have gradually absorbed entirely into the Formation Array.'

'That formation array has already been locked onto by you; Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, as the one who plans strategies, must have long received the news—tell me, what should you do to be right?'

Xiao Jiu's heart churned; she finally grasped the hidden meaning behind Xu Chun's words.

That formation array strangles the throat of all Suedi.

If Xiao Jiu insists on fighting Xu Chun to the bitter end, once the formation array is broken, all of Suedi will be buried with Xu Chun.

Can this karmic obstruction be borne by Xiao Jiu, or by Yin Dang Hang?

Even if we retreat ten thousand steps—suppose Xu Chun dies, Suedi is preserved, the old turtle is saved, the Xiūwéi and Merit from over three hundred years ago return to the old turtle's true form; next, the old turtle might ascend and become an Immortal Clan of the upper realm.

Xu Chun is probing Xiao Jiu, asking whether she has Weighed her own weight against that of Yin Dang Hang, daring to meddle in upper realm affairs.

The old turtle once said, when pawning himself at Yin Dang Hang, that this might be his final tribulation before ascending to the upper realm.

Xu Chun's meaning is that this tribulation is given to the old turtle by the upper realm.

Whether the old turtle can survive this tribulation is heavenly will.

Xiao Jiu, Liu Junyan, and Yin Dang Hang meddling without authorization is defying heaven.

He even mentioned the Earth Mother Goddess.

This inevitably reminded Xiao Jiu of the Earth Mother Goddess's trial upon her.

In this, could there also be apprehension toward the upper realm?

Xu Chun is too clever; as time passes, he becomes ever more composed.

Xiao Jiu's feelings were a little disordered.

Because of this matter, it concerns not only myself, but also Yin Dang Hang, Liu Junyan, the entire Jiǔyàn qū, the people of Suedi, and Old Fang……

Xu Chun stared unblinkingly at every tiny change in Xiao Jiu's facial expression; the sneer at the corner of Xu Chun's lips remained.

He thought he had Xiao Jiu under control.

Xiao Jiu lowered their head and reached out to touch the prayer beads on the other wrist.

Those prayer beads were a gift from Xingchen.

The cool temperature of the prayer beads, along with the faint sandalwood scent drifting in the air, instantly calmed Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu suddenly laughed.

Xu Chun's brow twitched, looking at Xiao Jiu in bewilderment: "What's wrong with this woman? Why did she suddenly laugh?"

Xiao Jiu said lightly: "Xu Chun, even someone like you, a piece of trash, dares to contend with the will of heaven—so why shouldn't I？！（note: inside quotes)"