The girl smiled and said: “I’ve let you borrow the vein, it’s time for you to carry out your promise, no? Hand over the map of Bronze Cauldron Mountain and the coordinates of Myriad Demon Valley.”
This was their agreement since they were beings of the same level.
Few were qualified to speak with this old man on an even footing, but this seemingly fragile woman was one of them.
The old man with the extraordinary temperament had a strange look in his eyes after the mountain was brought up. He sighed: “The place is extremely dangerous and majestic. I’ve only seen ten percent of it after being trapped for 1,800 years, not daring to go further inside. I can see the demonic energy surging from the valley all the way to the sky, so I do have a general idea about its position but let me warn you. Given your current cultivation, you only have a thirty percent chance or so of infiltrating it successfully. Why don’t you first help me seize this land and I’ll help you with the treasury in there?”
The woman’s eyes flashed like the stars as she smiled: “Haha, you wish for my a.s.sistance against the Imperial Sire of Jin?”
She was referring to Long Luofu’s father - the previous Jin Emperor.
“I’ve heard after coming out from the mountain that another amazing character has appeared from that clan after Long Jiangling and is considered the number one of Jin. I’ll be seeing him soon enough at the capital.”
This old man was spouting some shocking stuff - wanting to meet the previous emperor? Anyone else would become slack-jawed after hearing this.
In fact, the previous emperor was only a junior compared to him.
He was someone from the same generation as Empress Long Jiangling, so two positions higher than the previous emperor.
“So you’re saying that you need me to deal with someone else instead?” The woman stopped petting her dog.
“I’m asking you to deal with the two old geezers from Sacred Spirit Palace.” The old man replied.
“Haha, you’re quite ambitious.” The woman waved her sleeve to dismiss the guess then rubbed her eyes: “I’m tired and want to rest. Attendant, see our guest out.”
Having said that, she lay down flat on the flowerbed with her dog. The fox fur was certainly soft but her body was even softer. This sleeping pose was frighteningly beautiful.
The old man stood on the floating peak in a cool manner while his robe fluttered with the wind. He had a disappointed expression, ‘that’s a demon for you, can’t take advantage of her because she’s too smart.’
The disappointment made his wrinkles even more apparent. He took out a leather scroll and placed it on the ground before disappearing from sight.
In the next second, he appeared outside of the inn.
The woman opened her eyes and smirked. She raised her hand and the leather scroll fell into her grasp.
She slowly opened it. The top had four impressive characters as bright as four suns with a unique heavenly dao law.
An ordinary person would have been burnt to ashes. She waved her hand and the law subsided, revealing the characters - Bronze Cauldron Mountain Map. She smiled sweetly again, as enchanting as a fox demoness.
***
The old man hid his aura completely and looked as ordinary as can be with a friendly smile on his face.
The other guests and cultivators didn’t notice him outside of three people - the ones from Sacred Spirit Palace.
They trailed after the old man while keeping a far distance, not wanting to be spotted.
The old man traveled for dozens of miles before suddenly stopping.
The three froze as well while becoming nervous. They felt a loss of body control.
“Since when did people from Sacred Spirit turn into cowardly rats?” The gray-robed man didn’t bother turning back to speak to them while standing on a small path filled with leaves.
“Beacon King, our palace lord invites you to our sect.” The oldest man in a silver robe walked forward while holding a thick staff. He spoke in an authoritative manner.
These old men were Divine Emissaries and had a special status in the sect. Even the masters of the four great clans of Jin would need to be respectful towards them.
Why? Because they represented Sacred Spirit Palace, an existence above Jin.
The gray-robed man smiled and rubbed his well-kempt beard: “Of course I will give Sacred Spirit a visit, but not now.”
The three old men in silver exchanged glances. Their dantian emitted a silver light at the same time, looking like three vast galaxies.
This silver light spread to their staff, illuminating half of the sky.
The three staves turned into three heavenly pillars and exuded an oppressive divinity. The two closest mountains cracked and crumbled as a result.
“Rumble!” The staves’ pressure turned the vegetation in a radius of several thousand meters to ashes.
The gray-robed man still didn’t turn around. He swung his sleeve backward in a casual manner.
The silver light in the sky suddenly swept back towards the emissaries. They suddenly turned to silver ashes and scattered to the ground.
The area became deadly silent.
“Clank! Clank! Clank!” The three staves fell and pinned to the ground, still glowing with light.
Numerous cracks appeared all over them. After a cool breeze, they turned into specks and fell to the ground.
Nothing was left of these emissaries outside of three silver piles of dust, not even a strand of hair.
“Sacred Spirit Palace, hahaha!” The gray-robed man continued forward. Each step took him several miles forward.
***
The dawn has come after the night. The sun started to rise by the east, waking the entire land.
“Heretical King, what about this woman?” A man covered in black armor from top to bottom with a black sword on his back asked. He stood behind the gray-robed old man with nothing but respect in his eyes.
Consort Beiming was ashen with blood on her dress. She was grievously wounded and sat inside a wooden pavilion while staring at these two men.
She had escaped from the spirit vein only to be captured by this armored man. ‘Wait, what did he say? Heretical King? This old man is the legendary king?’
The old man looked strangely friendly, devoid of any evil presence. He smiled towards the consort: “Please don’t be afraid, Divine Consort. I only wish to find out one thing.”
“What do you want to know?” The consort’s black cloak has been taken off, revealing her soft and exquisite figure. Time didn’t do a thing to her since she still looked around twenty years of age.
He smiled: “I want to know the cultivation realm of the Imperial Sire.”
The consort’s eyes widened. She gradually believed that this ordinary old man was indeed the Heretical King. She pondered for a bit before answering: “I don’t know his exact cultivation since he wouldn’t tell me. Only one person knows, the Empress Dowager. She’s the one who knows the most about his cultivation.”
She was referring to Long Luofu’s mother, Consort Hua.
The old man clicked his tongue, seemingly able to read her mind. He sighed: “Women, how can they hold such deep grudges? Black Guard, tell me, can we ever trust a woman’s words?”
“I only know the difference between the living and the dead, not men and women.” The armored man said.
Suddenly, the black sword behind this man shook and issued a beast-like hum.
His murderous intent surged: “Heretical King, someone is coming.”
The old man smiled and shook his head: “He’s here to find the consort, let him come.”
The armored man recalled his murderous intent and his sword stopped shaking.
Feiyun was making seals with both hands while continuously adding spirit energy into a red jewel made from the consort’s blood. This allowed him to find her location.
He crossed through hills and streams to give chase. The jewel became brighter and brighter.
‘She’s nearby. Got so far away too.’ He thought.
After getting through another thicket, he finally saw her inside a pavilion, still as s.e.xy as ever despite the b.l.o.o.d.y wounds. She stared back at him as well.
On the other side, the gray-robed old man and the armored man have concealed their auras, looking just like regular pa.s.sengers taking a quick break in the pavilion.