Chapter 2478 – Shaman G.o.d"s Reappearance
There were several reasons that Xia Shenji had not made a big deal out of Xia Xing"s betrayal. For starters, the man had wanted to set a trap for Lu Yin. Secondly, Xia Shenji had not wanted such an ugly matter to leak out, as that would not bode well for Shenwu"s Sky at all.
He had also planned to deal with Xia Xing after Nutjob Lu killed Lu Yin, but the Progenitor had never antic.i.p.ated that he would be the one to fall into Lu Yin"s trap.
Xia Xing was quickly brought over. While moving, Xia Taili informed her father that Xia Shenji had been banished. Xia Xing grew both anxious and hopeful after hearing that Lu Yin had arrived. After all, Xia Xing had no idea how Lu Yin would deal with him, as there was no denying that the patriarch had cooperated with Progenitor Shenji to plot against Lu Yin. Still, everything had been forced upon Xia Xing.
"This junior, Xia Xing, greets Senior Xia Qin." Xia Xing quickly bowed upon arriving.
The woman just waved a hand, tossing Xia Xing towards Lu Yin.
Xia Taili"s face grew pale. "Senior Progenitor, my father…"
"Taili, Senior Progenitor knows what she is doing," Xia Shenfei growled back.
Xia Taili stared at Xia Qin for a moment before casting a worried look in Lu Yin"s direction.
Xia Xing crashed to the ground in front of Lu Yin. Xia Qin did not bother showing the disgraced patriarch much courtesy, as she was thoroughly disgusted by the man.
Xia Xing had betrayed Shenwu"s Sky. If she didn’t need to repay a debt, Xia Qing would have never saved him. There was a fundamental difference between this and getting revenge against the Xia family"s direct line.
"We meet again, Patriarch Xia Xing." Lu Yin showed some interest as he looked at Xia Xing.
Xia Xing"s expression contorted with despair as he looked up at Lu Yin. "I didn"t expect that even Senior Progenitor Xia Qin would take your side. You are truly a master at manipulating people"s hearts."
Lu Yin smiled. "Didn"t you expect this day to come when you were helping Xia Shenji work against me?"
Xia Xing shrugged. "When your ident.i.ty as Yu Hao was exposed, of course I was exposed as well. After all, I worked to protect you on more than one occasion. Senior Progenitor Shenji saw the truth that I"m a clone with but a glance. What could I do? I simply wanted to survive."
"I know, you only wanted to survive. Still, I almost died because of you."
"If you want to kill me, just do it."
Lu Yin raised a hand. As Xia Taili and everyone else from Shenwu"s Sky watched, Lu Yin slapped Xia Xing"s forehead.
Xia Taili screamed, "Lu Xiaoxuan!"
Lu Yin’s hand quickly drew back, exposing the death energy that he held in his hand. It was the Death Seal that he had placed in Xia Xing.
Everyone could see that Lu Yin had extracted death energy from Xia Xing"s body.
"I promised Xia Qin that I"d release you from my control. I"ve removed the death energy, so you"re free now," Lu Yin stated.
Xia Xing was stunned, not only by the fact that Lu Yin had removed the Death Seal, but also by his words. Lu Yin had publicly explained why Xia Xing had betrayed Shenwu"s Sky: the patriarch had been forced to do so.
Xia Taili covered her mouth. "Father, did you really betray Shenwu"s Sky?"
Xia Shenfei frowned and stared at Lu Yin. Why did had he explained himself so clearly? Did Lu Xiaoxuan intend to use Xia Xing again?
"What? Do you want to catch up on old times with me?" Lu Yin joked.
Xia Xing quickly rose to his feet and made his way towards the members of Shenwu"s Sky, not stopping until he was at the edge of the crowd.
Xia Qin"s voice rang out, "From this day forwards, Shenwu"s Sky will be jointly ruled by Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo. Xia Luo comes from the Fifth Mainland’s branch of the family. The Fifth Mainland branch will hold equal status to the Perennial World branch. I don"t see any issue with having both him and Xia Shenfei working together to run Shenwu"s Sky."
Everyone was stunned by the announcement.
Xia De immediately spoke up to object. "Senior Progenitor, it is unacceptable to have the direct line rule Shenwu"s Sky together with a branch family!"
Xia Qin"s eyes locked onto the man, and the aura of a Progenitor swept over Xia De"s body, sending him flying. He smashed into the ground, where he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The ruthless attack instantly silenced the entire crowd that had gathered in Shenwu"s Sky.
"Does anyone else have any objections?" Xia Qin"s words were accompanied by a intimidating pressure that suppressed all of Shenwu"s Sky.
The vast majority of the members of Shenwu’s Sky were only ordinary disciples, as there were only a few direct descendants of the Xia family, such as Xia De, Xia Shenfei, Xia Taili, and Xia Xing. In the past, the direct family line had held all the power in Shenwu"s Sky, but under Xia Qin"s supervision, they had lost the right to even speak.
Xia Luo"s lips curled upwards. "I look forward to learning from all of you in the future."
Xia Qin clearly saw resentful looks on the faces of Xia De and the other members of the direct family line. This was what she wanted; the more concerned the direct family line was about their authority, the more she would suppress them.
Of course, this was simply her way of getting revenge against the Xia family. She did not want to actually destroy the family.
Lu Yin understood that, as soon as Xia Qin relieved enough of her anger, or if Xia Shenji returned, the entire farce would end. However, things would not be nearly so simple.
Xia Qin used her strength as a Progenitor to threaten Shenwu"s Sky and force everyone to agree to have the sect be jointly ruled by Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo. With that done, Lu Yin was ousted from Shenwu’s Sky by the old woman. There was no denying that Lu Yin would always be considered an enemy of Shenwu"s Sky.
Regardless of Xia Qin’s view or the Xia family’s opinion, her att.i.tude towards Lu Yin was no different from that of any other member of Shenwu"s Sky.
If not for the fact that she needed Lu Yin to remove the Death Seal from Xia Xing, Xia Qin would have never allowed him to enter Shenwu"s Sky.
Before Lu Yin left, Xia Qin told him, "Shenwu"s Sky will not make trouble for you in the future. Your enemy is Xia Shenji, who has already been banished. I hope that you won"t stir up any further trouble for Shenwu"s Sky. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, we have no interest in their affairs."
Lu Yin left Shenwu"s Sky, riding atop the jiao to return to the Fifth Mainland.
The changes in Shenwu"s Sky quickly caught the attention of the entire Perennial World.
With Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo sharing power, it meant that the Xia family’s direct line and branch families were both being represented, and many people speculated that this change would lead to the decline of Shenwu"s Sky.
However, for the moment, no conflicts erupted between the two sides, even if only because of Xia Qin"s suppressive authority.
One day, Xia Ziheng arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect and requested an audience with Progenitor Bai w.a.n.gyuan.
The Progenitor refused to see the man, but Xia Ziheng did manage to meet with Bai Qi.
"Please go back. This matter is a private affair that concerns the families of Shenwu"s Sky. There is nothing that the Celestial Frost Sect can do about it," Bai Qi stated bluntly.
Xia Ziheng was put in a difficult position. "This is clearly the result of Lu Xiaoxuan"s interference. Progenitor Xia Qin has been deceived by Lu Xiaoxuan. In the past, she clearly stated that she would not involve herself with any affairs that are related to the four ruling powers. Is Progenitor Bai going to just watch as Shenwu"s Sky leaves the four ruling powers? Furthermore, how will we explain things to Senior Progenitor Shenji when he returns?"
"What is it that you want us to do? Go to war with Lu Xiaoxuan or Senior Progenitor Xia Qin?" Bai Qi asked.
Xia Ziheng fell silent. Just as Bai Qi had said, no matter what Lu Yin might have done to influence the situation, the one who supported the authority being shared between the branch and main families was Xia Qin, a Progenitor of the Xia family. What could the Celestial Frost Sect do about that?
"May I meet with Progenitor Bai?" Xia Ziheng asked.
"Go back. The root of your problem lies with Senior Progenitor Xia Qin. If she does not approve of it, how could a branch family ever rule over Shenwu"s Sky? How could Lu Xiaoxuan"s ploy ever succeed? This is Senior Progenitor Xia Qin"s choice, and the Celestial Frost Sect cannot intervene," Bai Qi said.
Xia Ziheng had no choice but to leave the Celestial Frost Sect. Given their att.i.tude, the w.a.n.g family and the White Dragon Clan were sure to hold similar positions.
It was not that they did not want to intervene; rather, the entire matter was simply an internal affair of Shenwu"s Sky. Also, no one could control Lu Xiaoxuan. All of them were very wary of Lu Xiaoxuan, and since no one was willing to start a war, mere words would accomplish nothing.
Xia Ziheng was not willing to accept his current situation. Despite also being a descendant of a branch family who wished to be treated like a direct descendant, he knew that Progenitor Shenji’s return was inevitable. The branch families would never be able to rise to power. Instead of seeking temporary gains, he felt that it would be better to maintain their current status. If he crossed the line, not only would the Forsaken Land’s branch of the Xia family ultimately suffer, but Xia Ziheng’s own branch family would also suffer.
He did not want to be implicated by the recent changes that had occurred.
Xia Ziheng had not originally planned to visit the w.a.n.g family, but as his uneasiness grew, he decided to seek an audience with Progenitor w.a.n.g Fan. The Semi-Progenitor intended to make his opinion as clear as possible, and that meant having witnesses for Progenitor Shenji’s eventual return.
Xia Ziheng started moving towards the w.a.n.g family"s continent.
Somewhere along the way between the Celestial Frost Sect and the w.a.n.g family’s continent, Hen Xin and Lu Yin were quietly waiting.
Lu Yin had decided that it was finally time to finish off Xia Ziheng.
This particular Semi-Progenitor had created a great deal of trouble for Lu Yin in the past, and he had even sworn to kill Lu Yin.
Xia Ji was dead, which meant that it was now Xia Ziheng"s turn.
Lu Yin did not enjoy getting revenge, but there were certain grudges that had to be dealt with.
After a day had pa.s.sed, Lu Yin did a mental calculation and said to Hen Xin, "It"s about time. Are you ready to deal with Xia Ziheng?"
Hen Xin replied confidently, "It won’t be a problem."
Lu Yin nodded and inquired, "When do you plan to break through to the Progenitor realm?"
Hen Xin"s eyes flickered as he replied, "I don"t feel the urge to break through yet. Ancient G.o.d once mentioned that, if one doesn’t feel the urge to break through, the attempt should not be made. Otherwise, the chances of failure will be extremely high."
Lu Yin thought back to what he had witnessed when he had Possessed Marquis Lan. During a battle on the rear battlefield, Hen Xin had attacked Marquis Lan, which had severely injured the marquis. Hen Xin’s true level of strength was much higher than anything that he had revealed so far.
Did Hen Xin fear Lu Yin? Was the man afraid that Lu Yin would try to prevent his breakthrough?
Lu Yin stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Would he try to stop Hen Xin"s breakthrough? If Hen Xin successfully became a Progenitor, it would not help Lu Yin at all. The man was highly ambitious, so it made sense for Lu Yin to suppress him. However, stopping Hen Xin from breaking through would also mean one less Progenitor to protect humanity.
As Lu Yin considered the situation, he felt some fluctuations in the distance. He looked up and said, "There"s a battle. Let"s go."
Far away from Lu Yin and Hen Xin, Xia Ziheng stared in horror at a doll in front of him that was grinning at him. "Shaman G.o.d?"
"Kaka. From now on, I will be Xia Ziheng," Shaman G.o.d’s doll cackled as it floated in the air.
Xia Ziheng"s pupils shrank, and he unhesitatingly turned to flee. He might be a Semi-Progenitor, but he never even considered trying to fight against one of the Seven SkyG.o.ds" Semi-Progenitor avatars. The seven ancient monsters were far beyond Xia Ziheng’s ability to resist.
The moment he turned around, Xia Ziheng felt an imminent sense of terrible danger. He released his inner world, which formed a birdcage around him that was composed of countless blades. An invisible power filled the area that surrounded the inner world. "Shaman G.o.d, this is the Higher Realm! How dare you show yourself here?"
As soon as Xia Ziheng spoke, a figure appeared and reached out to grab Xia Ziheng. As this happened, Shaman G.o.d’s doll remained floating behind the Semi-Progenitor.
A blade from Xia Ziheng’s inner world slashed out, but the figure before him waved a hand. That simple action mysteriously caused Xia Ziheng’s blade to simply vanish. At the same time, Shaman G.o.d’s doll casually waltzed into the birdcage formed of blades to stand face to face with Xia Ziheng.
At that moment, Xia Ziheng experienced a rare feeling of pure terror. It was very similar to what he had felt when facing Undying G.o.d. As the man stared at the eerie and ominous Shaman G.o.d doll, he felt an overwhelming desire to escape and get as far away as possible, but at that moment, his vision changed. His sight came from his hands, he felt his feet from where his nose was supposed to be, while he began to smell from the top of his head while his hearing arrived from his feet. All of his senses became mixed up, while left him helpless and confused as his inner world collapsed.
Against Shaman G.o.d, Xia Ziheng was as powerless as a child.
Shaman G.o.d’s doll seized Xia Ziheng"s neck from behind and then forcefully twisted it. There was a crisp snap as Xia Ziheng"s bones shattered, and the birdcage of blades that surrounded the man completely disintegrated. A Semi-Progenitor became nothing more than a puppet that Shaman G.o.d held in a hand.
Fear overwhelmed Xia Ziheng, and his vision from his hands spun. Desperate, he started to beg. "I surrender! I’m willing to join Aeternus!"