Chapter 163 – Avenged
The Dragon Lake City’s Su Clan Estate was extremely large, with courtyards the stood like trees in a forest, countless gardens, and row upon row of magnificent pavilions that were inlaid with jade, and every corner of the Su Clan Estate revealed its owner’s dignity and authority.
However, presently, all of this had transformed into a sea of flames.
Raging flames were like the most ruthless butcher in the world, burning and melting everything. No matter if it was good or evil, beautiful or ugly, in the sea of flames, all of it would transform into ash and return to the earth in the end.
The billowing flames burnt the sky red!
When Chen Xi rushed over, he saw a myriad of extremely verdant lotus flowers blooming at every corner of the Su Clan’s Estate, and the lotus flowers sprayed out strands of azure flames. The roof tiles, limestone, artificial mountains, pavilions, walls, and even the hardest steel had all melted in the azure tongues of flames. They’d melted into tiny specs of dust and crimson red molten iron, and even the surrounding s.p.a.ce started to warp, evaporate, and roil under the extremely blazing high temperatures. The raging waves of flames and hot current caused everything to be covered in a layer of a dreamlike aura.
Shrill cries, enraged shouts, cursing, begging… Various types of forlorn and bitter screams rose and fell as they resounded out from the sea of flames, and it was like the sea of flames in purgatory and weren’t supposed to appear in the realm of mortals.
Surrounded by the myriad of azure lotus flames, no one in the entire Su Clan was able to flee. No matter if it was the elders with high status and authority, the lowly servants, the swimming fish in the pond, or the birds in their cages, all lifeforms were desperately fleeing for their lives and struggling, yet it was to no avail, and in the end, they were blazed into nothingness by the azure flames.
This was the might of the Immortal Artifact, Verdant Lotus Shadowbamboo. It was brilliant like the sun and moon as it incinerated everything, and it treated death with indifference. When used in the hands of Bai Teng, who was at the 6th level of the Earthly Immortal Realm, although only 40% of its might could be utilized, this strength was already sufficient to annihilate the entire Su Clan.
Su Clan, Su Clan… Chen Xi stood silently in the air as he muttered to himself. The raging flames reflected on his clear and handsome face, causing it to flicker between dimness and brightness, and it seemed as if flames had started to blaze within his eyes.When he saw the Su Clan was about to be melted bit by bit, moving step by step to oblivion, Chen Xi’s heart was instead empty and felt awful. So what if the Su Clan is annihilated? How can it bring back grandfather to life?
Bang!
Chen Xi had his back to the sea of flames as he knelt in the sky, and a wisp of dense sorrow gushed out from his heart. “Grandfather, Grandson has finally avenged you. Have you seen it? But… Grandson is unable to see you again.”
The fire still blazed, yet the miserable screams gradually lowered and gradually vanished, and it became empty with only the howling of the roiling flames being able to be heard.
When Chen Xi stood up, the entire Su Clan had already transformed into ash that covered the sky. It fluttered about, rose up, and fell down in the sea of flames, and it was utterly devoid of life.
From today onward, there was no Su Clan in this world any longer, there was no Su Zhentian, Su Jiao, Su…
Bei Heng had already arrived at Chen Xi’s side without Chen Xi noticing, and as he looked at the sea of flames, he felt waves of coldness in his heart. Another great power of Dragon Lake City that had existed for tens of thousands of years had been obliterated, and all of this was done by merely a single person and a single Immortal Artifact!
Yet the reason was merely because a woman wanted to help Chen Xi take revenge…
Was it absurd?
No!
This was the true cultivation world where the strong were respected, and it was b.l.o.o.d.y and brutal. How many cultivators hadn’t died under the Heaven’s Dao, but had instead died under the sharp blade of their enemy?
Too many!
Perhaps, this was similarly a type of punishment of the Heaven’s Dao towards cultivators. While they possessed extraordinary strength, wealth, and authority, they similarly possessed countless resentment, hatred, and karma.
Bei Heng took a deep breath and exerted great effort to restrain the palpitation of his heart, and then he patted Chen Xi on the shoulder and said, “Your great enemy has been annihilated, you ought to be happy.”
Chen Xi instantly woke up from the sadness of missing his grandfather. When he raised his eyes to look, he instead noticed that he couldn’t find a trace in the surroundings, and he couldn’t see Bai Wanqing anywhere.
“There’s no need to look, they’ve left since long ago.” Bei Heng said with a smile, “Little Brother, you’re a fortunate person, and have experts taking care of you at every corner. Unlike me, who’s a lonely ghost that can’t even find someone to depend on.”
Chen Xi laughed as he understood Bei Heng was joking. As the Supreme Elder of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect, how could Bei Heng possibly be a lonely ghost?
“What a pity! I originally intended to seize the opportunity of the Su Clan’s annihilation to salvage a great deal. Unexpectedly, that Elder Bai Teng is so cruel, he transformed the entire Su Clan into dust and didn’t even leave a copper coin behind.” Bei Heng carried slight regret as he sighed.
“Big Brother, do you lack copper coins?” Chen Xi couldn’t refrain from smiling.
“When you’re in my position, you’ll understand that the food, clothing, lodging, and travel of the disciples that cultivate in the sect requires me to rack my brains to arrange all of it. It looks wonderful in appearance, yet it’s actually extremely tiring.” Bei Heng sighed with emotion.
Chen Xi acutely noticed that Bei Heng’s att.i.tude towards him had changed. It had become friendlier and more equal, and with a slight thought, Chen Xi had understood the reason.
In a single day, Bai Wanqing’s group of three had successively annihilated two great powers of Dragon Lake City, and the terrifying strength they revealed and the att.i.tude they had towards him had indirectly caused Bei Heng to undergo a slight change in perception towards him.
All of this was given to him by Bai Wanqing, and Chen Xi understood it, causing him to be even more grateful to Aunt Bai that watched him grow up.
“Come, us brothers will go have some drinks. Your enmity has been avenged, and it’s a happy occasion in your life. We’ll drink till we drop today!” Bei Heng put his arm on Chen Xi’s shoulder as he laughed heartily.
“Alright, I just happen to want to tell Chen Hao and Instructor Meng of this good news as well, so that they don’t have to be worried.” Chen Xi nodded.
——
In a single day.
The Starnet Palace had perished.
The Su Clan had perished.
Two of the ancient powers that had resided in Dragon Lake City for a few thousands of years had been pulled up by the roots, and this news instantly shocked the entire Dragon Lake City. Scouts from everywhere swarmed out, and various rumors fluttered about Dragon Lake City along with this.
“What? The Starnet Palace and Su Clan were both annihilated by the Supreme Elder of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect, Bei Heng?”
“My a.s.s! When the Starnet Palace was annihilated, Bei Heng was still at Falling Star Mountain, yet the Su Clan had already suffered an attack at that time, so how could the annihilation of both these powers have been done by Bei Heng alone?”
“Everyone, keep it down. I obtained information earlier, that during these two ma.s.sacres the kid that subdued the Buddha’s PaG.o.da was present on both occasions. Moreover, from the beginning until the end, he had Bei Heng protecting him! Do all of you think that this is related to him?”
“Chen Xi?”
“Right! It’s exactly him.”
“It can’t be! He’s just an outsider, and no matter how strong he is, he’s only at the Violet Palace Realm. What ability does he possess to annihilate two great powers? It’s simply like an ant that tried to shake a tree, an overestimation of his abilities. Impossible, it’s utterly impossible!”
“Hmph! Could it be that he can’t have a power backing him? Could it be that it had to be him who attacked alone and annihilated the two powers? Truly laughable.”
During this night, the streets and lanes, the tearooms and taverns, everywhere in Dragon Lake City was discussions about the annihilation of the Starnet Palace and Su Clan, and it all touched upon Chen Xi and Bei Heng. Due to the lack of sufficient evidence, no one was able to deduce exactly who did it, but practically everyone thought that this matter was surely related to Chen Xi and Bei Heng.
It was precisely because of this that Chen Xi seemed to become even more mysterious in the eyes of the cultivators of Dragon Lake City, and as for Bei Heng, was there any need to discuss this Supreme Elder of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect?
When some people were delighted, there would be some who were sad.
For example, the Cang Clan’s Patriarch, Cang Xiaolong and Dean Jiang Zhenyu of the Myriadcloud Inst.i.tution, both of them were in a state of uneasiness and worry all night, and they didn’t dare go to sleep for a long time.
They were afraid because the information they grasped was clearer than others, and they understood even more clearly about exactly how the Starnet Palace and Su Clan were annihilated.
Because all this was related to Chen Xi!
The sad thing was they’d once joined forces with Su Zhentian and Tie Yunzi after the Hidden Dragon Rankings ended to attack Chen Xi, with the intention of seizing the Buddha’s PaG.o.da in Chen Xi’s possession.
Now, the Su Clan behind Su Zhentian had perished and the Starnet Palace behind Tie Yunzi had perished as well, then would their powers be next?
Cang Xiaolong and Jiang Zhenyu both didn’t know that the unknown was the most terrifying. So, these two great figures that commanded the wind and rain in Dragon Lake City had finally felt the feeling of being in a constant state of anxiety and being unable to sit or sleep comfortably.
——
Chen Xi didn’t know all of this, as he’d already returned to the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect with Bei Heng and had returned to his own True Heart Peak.
“Brother, is what you said true? It was Aunt Bai that annihilated the Starnet Palace and Su Clan?” When Chen Hao heard the news from Chen Xi, he was shocked to the point his jaw almost fell off.
“It’s true, when have I ever lied to you?” said Chen Xi. Not to mention Chen Hao, even he who’d seen it with his own two eyes almost didn’t dare believe his sight.
Bang!
Chen Hao suddenly knelt on the ground, his tears flowing as he choked with sobs in a low voice. “Brother, if Grandfather was still alive now, he would probably be extremely happy, right? During these past two years, I’ve cultivated day and night and cultivated without rest precisely because I wanted to become strong and wanted to avenge Grandfather. Now that our great enmity has been avenged, why do I not feel the slightest happiness in my heart?”
Chen Xi was at a loss for words. Wasn’t he himself like that as well? Their enemies had died, yet they couldn’t get back their grandfather’s life. Besides Chen Hao and himself, who else was able to experience this empty sense of loss?
This night, the two brothers drank a great deal of wine and spoke a great deal of nonsense. This pair of brothers that had stuck together and helped each other since they were young were now already different from before. One of them was the Junior Brother of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect’s Master, the disciple of Daoist Wen Xuan, and his status had risen rapidly to become extremely eminent. The other was the sword brother of the Wanderingcloud Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder, his status aloof, and his reputation had spread extensively and shaken Dragon Lake City.
Perhaps if their grandfather, Chen Tianli’s, soul could see this scene from the heavens, it would be sufficient to allow him to smile in the underworld.
Later at night, Chen Xi returned to his quiet room and sat cross-legged on his bed, and he pondered for a long time before slowly taking out a jade slip. This jade slip was entrusted to Bei Heng to pa.s.s over to him by Bai Wanqing, and it was a Soundsaver Jade Slip.
Bang!
The jade slip shattered into pieces, and a strand of a voice that was gentle and pleasing to the ear slowly resounded out in the room.
Chen Xi, you’ve finally grown up. Aunt Bai is extremely happy and extremely proud. I’ve found out a lot of things about you, and I’ve also found out that these two years have been full of hards.h.i.+ps for you. Aunt Bai’s heart aches extremely, so take the annihilation of the Su Clan as a present from Aunt Bai to you and Chen Hao…
I presume you’ve suspected Aunt Bai’s ident.i.ty since long ago. But once you arrive at the Dark Reverie and meet me, you’ll understand everything. Of course, meeting me or not isn’t important. What’s most important is that there are many things that you ought to know, and it’s related to your mother and father…
Alright, it isn’t easy to come to the Dark Reverie. You have to work hard in your cultivation! Even Uncle Teng says your natural talent is extraordinary and Aunt Bai believes in you as well. You’ll surely be able to come to the Dark Reverie, and Aunt Bai will be waiting there for you.
The voice curled upwards and vanished gradually.
Chen Xi sat alone in the pitch black quiet room, and his expression couldn’t be seen clearly.
— End of Book Three —