Chapter 1998
It was clear that Semi-Progenitors like Arch-Elder Zen were deeply attached to what was best for humanity. Even when threatened with war, it was not enough to convince these men to betray Lu Yin. It did not matter that he was really Lu Xiaoxuan, one of the Seven Heroes who had been famous throughout the entire Perennial World for being one of the most extraordinary geniuses.
Even if Lu Xiaoxuan had lost his memory and been thrown to the Forsaken Land, the entire Fifth Mainland was stepping up to protect him.
Regardless of how many talented youths Grand Elder Ni Huang had seen over the eons, he still had to admire Lu Xiaoxuan"s achievements. If not for the fact that he was a descendent of the Lu family, the child would definitely become a beacon of hope for mankind.
Inexplicably, Ni Huang suddenly was reminded of Long Quan"s words as he had died. The grand elder could not help wishing such claims were true.
w.a.n.g Si shouted harshly, "Just tell us where Lu Xiaoxuan is! You don"t need to give him to us; we’ll get him ourselves, so you will have nothing to do with the matter."
Arch-Elder Zen stared at Grand Elder Ni Huang. "I want to do everything possible to convince Lu Yin to set aside his hatred for your four ruling powers. Is this possible?"
"No," w.a.n.g Si instantly refused, as she glared straight at Arch-Elder Zen. "Lu Xiaoxuan lost his memories and was cast down to this Forsaken Land, yet he still rose up once more to stand above all of his peers and be respected by all. Such a person can’t be suppressed regardless of the means used, so he must be destroyed."
Arch-Elder Zen answered softly, "I don"t want to see humans fighting each other, but I also can’t agree to give you Lu Yin just to avoid this war."
"So you’re saying we can"t come to an agreement?" w.a.n.g Si"s voice dropped low, but it was dripping with contempt and arrogance.
Jiu Chi finally turned to look at w.a.n.g Si. "You’re ugly."
w.a.n.g Si was stunned.
Highsage Grandmaster, Arch-Elder Zen, and everyone else present was similarly shocked, and they all gave Jiu Chi strange looks.
Jiu Chi was constantly drinking, yet despite being a drunk, he never spoke very much. This was why his sudden comment left everyone stunned.
Even Grand Elder Ni Huang was caught off guard.
w.a.n.g Si was momentarily dazed, but then she grew furious. "What are you talking about? You’re seeking death!"
The woman immediately attacked, only to have Grand Elder Ni Huang suppress her. The man then gave Jiu Chi a cold look. “You’re a Semi-Progenitor, yet you are so rude. You’re just embarra.s.sing yourself."
Jiu Chi drank some of his wine. "I only told the truth. I’m no liar."
This was Grand Elder Ni Huang’s first time encountering such a Semi-Progenitor, so the old man actually did not know how to respond.
Not a liar? No one even asked you if she was ugly! Why did you suddenly say such a thing?
w.a.n.g Si"s eyes burned with rage. "Old man, you’re seeking death!"
Jiu Chi was perfectly calm as he looked at her. "The longer I look, the uglier you become. Did you actually look like this when you were younger, too?"
w.a.n.g Si"s eyes flared, and she attacked again. This time, Grand Elder Ni Huang did not hold the woman back, but instead gave Jiu Chi a cold glare. The man was really going too far.
Arch-Elder Zen instead took action and stopped w.a.n.g Si’s attack. "I just want to know why you are even here."
w.a.n.g Si roared, madness flaring in her eyes. "Out of my way! I"m going to kill that old thing!"
Arch-Elder Zen frowned. "He just drank too much and is drunk."
w.a.n.g Si screamed, "Move, Forsaken Land trash!"
Arch-Elder Zen"s expression grew darker.
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Even Grand Elder Ni Huang"s expression changed, and he pulled the woman back. "What are you spouting?"
Arch-Elder Zen"s eyes grew icy. "It looks like you only ever truly see us as inferior people. No wonder you refer to this place as the Forsaken Land."
Grand Elder Ni Huang quickly replied, "The Forsaken Land is the name the Lu family gave this place. We were never the ones to name it."
Jiu Chi sneered. "It’s always the same line from you: it’s the Lu family’s fault. The Lu family abandoned the Fifth Mainland. The Lu family called this place the Forsaken Land. The Lu family’s gone. That ugly woman even said this whole thing is the Lu family"s problem?
"You already claimed that your four ruling powers stand at the frontlines to protect mankind. The Aeternals are about to invade from the Starfall Sea, and yet your entire focus is only on Lu Xiaoxuan. Is this also a problem created by the Lu family? Even if Lu Xiaoxuan wants to get revenge on you in the future, that’s a long ways off. If you really are trying to act in humanity’s best interests, then I would ask you to deal with Aeternus in the Starfall Sea."
Grand Elder Ni Huang"s expression grew ugly. The negotiations had initially been going well, even if the Fifth Mainland was insisting on protecting Lu Xiaoxuan, yet Jiu Chi’s words left Ni Huang completely speechless. He simply stared at Jiu Chi, as the grand elder could not think of a single thing to say in response to such accusations.
Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, Xia Ji, everyone from the Fifth Mainland stared at Jiu Chi with odd expressions. They had never seen the man be so talkative. He had actually insulted that woman w.a.n.g Si to the point that she had lost all control. If not for the fact that she had referred to the people of the Fifth Mainland as trash, they really would have had no grounds on which to criticize Grand Elder Ni Huang.
Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, "Jiu Chi is correct. Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin tries to take action against you in the future, at least for the moment, he is no threat. Since you are here, please help us deal with Aeternus in the Starfall Sea first. We are truly facing a crisis, and the Fifth Mainland could be slaughtered at any moment."
w.a.n.g Si sneered, "What concern of ours is it if you all die?"
"Shut up!" Elder Ni Huang yelled as he shot a vicious glare at w.a.n.g Si.
While w.a.n.g Si was intimidated by Grand Elder Ni Huang, she did not fear him. She was a member of the w.a.n.g family, not the White Dragon Clan. “What else do you want to say? It’s quite clear that they want to protect that last survivor of the Lu family, and since that’s the case, let’s just deal with these people. As long as we get rid of them, we’ll be able to enslave the entire Forsaken Land."
"You sure can talk big. You want to enslave our home? Looks like wanting to deal with Lu Yin is just a front and you’re really here to try to enslave my Fifth Mainland." Jiu Chi wiped his mouth clean as he stared at w.a.n.g Si. "I think you’re not only wanting to enslave us, but also capture us and force us to fight Aeternus on the rear battlefield to act as your cannon fodder."
w.a.n.g Si arched a brow. This had never occurred to her, as her intentions had merely been a whim, and they had never gone further than enslaving the people in this place to act as the w.a.n.g family’s servants, but she was arrogant and felt that it was beneath her to even deny such an accusation. "What of it?"
Arch-Elder Zen let out a long breath. "So your visit always held bad intentions for us. Lu Yin was never anything more than an excuse."
Grand Elder Ni Huang had not expected things to suddenly take such a turn. Their entire goal was simply to capture Lu Yin, so how had things devolved to the point that the enslavement of the Forsaken Land had become the purpose in their trip from the Perennial World? What did such a wretched place even hold that was worth enslaving?
Seeing the reaction of Arch-Elder Zen made it clear to Ni Huang that any further discussion would be futile. There was nothing more to say at this time. “Let"s stop here for now. We don’t want a war, and right or wrong, the final decision depends on the Progenitor supporting Lu Xiaoxuan. The bottom line of my four ruling powers is that we must take Lu Xiaoxuan away. Even if he is not executed, he must at least be imprisoned. I hope you don’t make a mistake.”
With that, the old man took w.a.n.g Si and the Second Nightking and left.
He regretted bringing the woman with him. Her temper was too volatile, and she lost control too easily. She had ruined Ni Huang’s attempts at negotiations.
As he watched Ni Huang and the other two leave, Arch-Elder Zen glanced over at Jiu Chi. "Where is Lu Yin? Did you see him?"
Jiu Chi shook his head. "I only saw those two when I got here."
"The Second Nightking is inseparable from Lu Yin. If they have him, they should also have Lu Yin!" Highsage Grandmaster was quite concerned.
Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "If they already had him, they wouldn’t have needed to say anything to us at all."
There was a moment of silence, and Arch-Elder Zen and all of the other Semi-Progenitors turned to stare at Jiu Chi. "You’ve been unusually chatty today."
Jiu Chi took a sip of his wine. "I had nothing to do with what I said. I was just repeating someone else’s words."
The Semi-Progenitors were caught off guard by this, especially Arch-Elder Zen, as he had not noticed any other people nearby. "Who was it?"
Jiu Chi replied, "That Semi-Progenitor who’s close to Lu Yin. He told me he had a way to anger those two into leaving."
Arch-Elder Zen was left speechless. So it had been Kui Luo all along. Jiu Chi’s words really did sound like what that scoundrel would say.
It also seemed quite clear that Kui Luo cared deeply about Lu Yin and would do everything he could to protect the youth. However, Kui Luo was not strong enough to avoid Arch-Elder Zen’s detection. Either the man had been hiding his strength, or he had some special means at his disposal.
As the Semi-Progenitors looked past Jiu Chi, they saw Kui Luo appear in the distance behind the drunk man. Oddly, this time there was a serious expression on Kui Luo’s face, and he even looked to be rather upset.
"You’re familiar with those two, and so you knew how to deal with them," Arch-Elder Zen addressed Kui Luo.
Kui Luo quietly asked, "Where’s the kid?"
Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "I don"t know."
Kui Luo glanced over at Jiu Chi, who also shook his head. "I arrived first, yet I only saw them with the Second Nightking. I never saw the child."
Kui Luo looked towards the Technocracy. He was feeling increasingly uneasy. He was afraid Lu Yin had been taken, but logically, if Lu Yin had already been captured, there would have been no reason for Ni Huang and w.a.n.g Si to spend so much time negotiating. Those two did not fear the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors.
Even if a desperate fight had broken out, Ni Huang was powerful enough to be able to escape.
Where did the kid go? The Second Nightking was even badly injured… That kid better not have died!
"Forget about where Lu Yin might be for the moment; it’s not good that we have people here from the Perennial World. If they aren’t able to find Lu Yin, they’ll think we’ve hidden him, and that will most likely trigger a war," Highsage Grandmaster spoke up.
Xia Ji interjected in a cold voice, "I knew that kid would cause trouble for us! A war between humans will only help out Aeternus. I still think the best choice is to give that kid to the Perennial World."
"Bulls.h.i.t! f.u.c.k off!" Kui Luo glared at Xia Ji as he screamed loud enough to make everyone jump.
Xia Ji became enraged. "What was that?"
Kui Luo did not back down at all. "Why don’t we give them your kid? That child is more important than your offspring and even your entire Xia family. Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done to that kid. Just wait, old man. You’ll be fine if he ends up being safe, but if anything happens to that kid, I’ll spend the rest of my life making trouble for you, and your life will be worse than death! You won’t have a moment of peace, not even when you lay down to sleep! You’ll feel exposed, whether you’re naked or not."
These words infuriated Xia Ji, and his breathing grew ragged. He wanted to lash out, and a long knife appeared in his hand.
Arch-Elder Zen felt helpless. Kui Luo truly had perfected his ability to p.i.s.s people off. "Enough. Even if we do as Xia Ji suggests, they will still treat us like a wasteland. We are the Fifth Mainland, and not even the destruction of our Mainland was enough to take that away from us. If word of their threats leak out, we will be reviled by countless people from the Human Domain.”
Xia Ji’s hand tightened on the handle of his knife as he glared at Kui Luo. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d would have to die one day.
Kui Luo stared right back at Xia Ji. Kui Luo had not been just spouting off. If anything did happen to Lu Yin, Kui Luo really would do everything he could to make Xia Ji’s life miserable. Kui Luo had despised this man from beginning to end.
"I"m leaving. If you find that kid, don"t come looking for me if he’s fighting with the primeval surnames or something. I won’t help," Xia Ji said indifferently before stepping through s.p.a.ce to leave.
Kui Luo sneered. "Won"t help? Old man, I"ll spend the rest of my life going after you to kill you!"
Xia Ji shot a final cold glare at Kui Luo before leaving.
"We’re leaving, too. We’ll do all we can to find the child," Highsage Grandmaster said.
There was no need to even mention Elder Gong, as he was quite worried about the sole of Lu Yin"s foot...
Jiu Chi felt like he had to say something. "All of this is happening right after the Tower of the Fifth was finished, ah—"
He then turned to make his way towards the Cosmic Sea.
There were no real intentions behind his words, but someone who heard them was startled by certain implications.
Arch-Elder Zen was startled by Jiu Chi’s comment: the Perennial World showed up and demanded Lu Yin right after the Tower of the Fifth had opened? Was this really just a coincidence? Or was this something put into play long ago?