The Nascent Soul stage cultivator surnamed Shao looked calm but many thoughts rose in his mind.
The illegitimate son of the Marquis of Xuanji, who previously had no power or influence, could today order him about as he wished, and there was nothing he could do about it. This feeling made him extremely uneasy.
Even though he knew that Zhu Yi could not compare to his previous self anymore, as he was no longer than confused and trouble youth, his mental preparations were not enough to dispel his sense of uneasiness.
Zhu Hongwu"s att.i.tude towards Zhu Yi did not change as he could easily overpower Zhu Yi with his current mastery. Psychologically, he possessed an advantage over Zhu Yi.
The cultivator surnamed Shao did not have this advantage. As a trusted confidante of Liang Yuan, he knew clearly that Zhu Yi had killed a powerful Advanced Nascent Soul stage cultivator when he was only in his Advanced Aurous Core stage. Zhu Yi today, who was in his Intermediate Nascent Soul stage, was much more powerful.
However, it was exactly because of that that resulted in the cultivator surnamed Shao feeling not only displeased, but threatened.
"I should have gotten rid of him earlier!" A few years ago, it would have been impossible for him to feel regret over this matter. However, today, the regret was like a seed that had germinated and grown into a giant tree.
While he managed to calm himself, his mana was once again thrown into disarray when this thought surfaced in his mind.
"Eh?" Zhu Yi sensed this feeling. He shot a look at the cultivator and immediately saw through him.
The opponent was ultimately still a Nascent Soul stage cultivator and he was unable to read his mind clearly. However, the enmity was palpable.
In the enmity, there was a desire to kill.
Under Lin Feng, w.a.n.g Lin"s soul was cleansed by the River Styx Primordial Water and Zhu Yi"s Air of Literature ignited the Fire of Intelligence, fundamentally changing his soul. The two of them possessed the strongest soul under Lin Feng, but their powers were different
w.a.n.g Lin"s soul was powerful in the sense that it was extremely resilient. Zhu Yi"s soul was powerful in the sense it was extremely sensitive and active. It was like a mirror that could not be dirtied. If the enemy made a move, he would be able to sense it.
Liang Yuan could feel it too. His expression changed slightly but before he could do anything, Zhu Yi acted first.
Zhu Yi did not do much. All he did was to take a light breath. However, as he exhaled, he spewed out streams of white spiritual energy that messed the room up.
The white spiritual energy took shape as they turned into scale-shaped clouds. They were at least a few meters wide and everyone in the hall could feel that the s.p.a.ce in the hall had been messed up. The clouds that floated in the hall occupied half the s.p.a.ce.
On top of these scale-shaped clouds, a giant beast that was as big as several elephants combined appeared.
Its entire body was jet-black. It had the head of a dragon, the body of a deer, the tail of an ox and cloven hooves
This was the holy beast Qilin. The moment it appeared, a wave of righteousness and awe beganto spread. Everyone on-scene grimaced.
For Liang Yuan"s group, other than Liang Yuan himself, everyone else could feel their mana"s flow becoming inconsistent.
Under the gaze of the Qilin, everyone felt exposed, as if their deepest and darkest thoughts were revealed, including their best and worst intentions.
For Nascent Soul stage cultivators, it was a major humiliation. What made them more infuriated was the fact that the Qilin Zhu Yi formed with his mana not only brimmed with severity, a humongous amount of mana could be sensed from it. No one dared to act rashly.
The Qilin was a virtuous beast. While it did not kill, it used its power to suppress the evil and the wicked.
Everyone else could still bear it, as the true target of the Qilin was the cultivator surnamed Shao. Immediately, he could feel his soul being suppressed and paralyzed.
He coughed and a light shone from his head. His Nascent Soul revealed itself and turned into a child of about 7 to 8 years old. In mid-air, it cried out, "Open!" As it bellowed, the void began to tremble and turn into a small world. It was not used to retaliate against Zhu Yi but rather, to envelop himself in.
The powerful mana turned into a thick, emerald-green gas, which then turned into an emerald-green world. It wrapped the cultivator surnamed Shao in it and sent him directly into the void.
Zhu Yi"s expression did not change but his gaze flashed slightly, "Oh? This is quite a special vanis.h.i.+ng spell. In the world, it can be said to be one of the best. Too bad you aren"t very good at it. In other words, your technique is complete."
"However, even if you master the perfect vanis.h.i.+ng spell, you may not be able to escape from me."
"With that, Zhu Yi"s mana caused the Qilin to lift its claw. It pierced through s.p.a.ce and directly grabbed the emerald-green small world.
Under its powerful pressure, the emerald-green world was like an egg. It began to crack and looked as if it was going to split open.
Liang Yuan sighed and stood up from his seat. A powerful energy began to spread and the shadow of a giant appeared behind him.
Zhu Yi"s expression did not change. He smiled and nodded his head, "The Spell of the Emperor, it truly lives up to its name." While he said that, he did not relax his grip. The tiny green world in the grip of the Qilin split open completely as it turned into waves of green light floating in the air.
Liang Yuan did not actually attack. He did not even look at Zhu Yi but instead, he said directly to the cultivator under the Qilin"s grip, "Retrieve the person, it"s a joyous occasion for relatives to be reunited."
The cultivator surnamed Shao smiled bitterly and nodded his head. Mentally, Zhu Yi ordered the Qilin to send his Nascent Soul back into his body.
"It is good that Daoist Liang can think in this way," Zhu Yi sat on the chair without moving. His mana, the Qilin and the fish-scaled clouds disappeared. The mana flow in the room returned to normal.
His gaze fell upon the cultivator surnamed Shao and he said, "You want to kill me but you dare not say it. I have detected such a thought for quite a while now. I also detected a trace of underestimation. For such a change to happen, you probably knew of me before I joined my master and when I still lived in the Marquis of Xuanji"s household."
"Who are you?"
The cultivator surnamed Shao fell silent for a while before straightening his back and replying slowly, "I am Shao Peng of the East Heaven"s Gate."
Zhu Yi nodded his head and said, "Your surname is Shao. So that"s why, Lady Shao"s birth is ordinary but she was still descended from a cultivation family. Hence, she isn"t just any ordinary person. She must have some secrets with her."
He suddenly smiled and said, "But it doesn"t matter. When I return to the Marquis of Xuanji"s household, it will all be the same."
Shao Peng"s faces was expressionless. He did not say much as he bowed to the Crown Prince, Liang Pan, and stepped into the void.
Zhu Yi did not stop him, because it was clear that Shao Peng intended to bring Xu Miaoying back.
Earlier on, through Zhu Yi"s words and actions, it was clearly understood that unless Shao Peng brought Xu Miaoying back, he would not live arrrive.
If he were to run away now, then he would placed the Crown Prince in an awkward position. He himself would be accused of disloyalty and he could forget about ever returning to the Great Zhou Empire.
How could he do that for a mere Xu Miaoying?
Looking at this scene, Xu Yunsheng felt a hundred emotions in his heart. He felt that what he did was extremely hilarious. After interacting with his master for so long, he should have known his personality.
He did not need to wait or plan a secret rescue mission. He did not probe carefully. All he needed to do was to go up and ask the person directly.
The only reason he was being so polite was out of respect for Xu Yunsheng. If not, he would have used a much more violent method.
Don"t tell me that this thing did not exist, don"t tell me that person is absent and don"t use anyone to threaten me.
If I"m right, then I would not hesitate to claim what was mine. I would not run about in circles but instead, stand my group and insist on my principles. It was that simple.
Liang Yuan and Shao Peng had no choice to but to go along with it.
This was not the first time the Great Zhou Empire had used spies. While they were useful, they had been exposed many times too. After a spy had been exposed, he may have to feel the wrath of the other party. Even if he was not executed due to pressure from the Great Zhou Empire, his cultivation would be voided.
However, no one had seen a sect as unconventional as the Celestial Sect of Wonders. After they discovered a spy, they conversely tried to help the spy reclaim his family members.
They no longer cared about whether he was a spy or not and sought to view him as their own. Now, to them, a family member of a member of the Celestial Sect of Wonders was being held hostage and they could now honorably demand for his family member"s return.
With reason on your side and backed by power, one could get what one want easily.
At this time, Xu Yunsheng felt from the bottom of his heart what a fortunate thing it was for him to have such a powerful sect behind him. For matters he could not settle himself, the sect would render its a.s.sistance.
This disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders felt this feeling increasingly over time, which increased their sense of belonging to the sect.
Because of personal reasons, Xu Yunsheng felt this especially deeply. The normally calm Xu Yunsheng began to feel tears welling up.
Liang Yuan was extremely calm at the moment. To him, it was not a particularly bad incident. It was only a case where a spy double-crossed him. However, he felt that all the effort he placed on Xu Yunsheng was wasted.
If Shao Peng controlled his emotions upon seeing Zhu Yi just now, all of that would not have happened.
There was no point in keeping a useless hostage. Hence, handing her over was of no loss to him. He lost this round, but all he could do now was to re-plan his strategy. There was no need to mourn his loss.
After experiencing the uncertainty of his position as Crown Prince earlier, Liang Yuan"s mentality had undergone a major change.
"Today"s incident is no big deal. There"s no need to fight over. The appearance of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea is much more important. My father and the Grand Advisor had already made sufficient preparations. If the Celestial Sect of Wonders were to interfere now, then they would suffer major losses. Then, I can take my revenge"
After the Spiritual Conference of the Kunlun Mountains was over, he went back to visit Liang Pan. Then, he discovered many things that he did not know about earlier. This gave him a new sense of confidence.
Zhu Yi sat in the hall as he talked normally with Liang Yuan. It was as if nothing had happened.
As he talked to Liang Yuan, Zhu Yi thought, "East Heaven"s Gate? I have never heard of this sect Based on its name, could it be related to the Heaven"s Gate that was destroyed in the Antiquity Age? East Heaven"s Gate, it appears to be located in the far east. Has the Heaven"s Gate been revived?"
"The far east, that refers to the East Sea. Looking at it now, we may meet them on our voyage to the East Sea."
Zhu Yi smiled slightly and said, "That"s good too. Before I head back to the Marquis" household, I shall eliminate some of his lieutenants."