Boom
A deafening crash echoed as the table before Wuming Xingyun splintered into pieces, the entire palace trembling in its wake.
Wuming Xingyun rose to his feet, his gaze slicing toward Tantai Changfei like twin blades.
Tantai Changfei, already trembling with fear, stood frozen, as if struck dumb.
“M-My lord… could… could this token be real?” someone stammered, pointing at the token Tantai Changfei had dropped.
“I crafted this token myself—no one could forge it. How could it be fake?” Wuming Xingyun’s voice was an icy rebuke.
*Thud—*
Tantai Changfei dropped to his knees, realization dawning. He’d screwed up—big time.
“Mercy, my lord! Mercy!”
“This lowly one’s eyes failed me—I couldn’t tell the token’s authenticity. The Chu Heavenly Clan’s a fallen family, barely a blip in the Ancestral Martial Starfield. I never imagined they’d hold your token, so I…”
Tantai Changfei scrambled to justify himself.
“My lord, this truly isn’t Changfei’s fault. Even I might’ve done the same,” the Tantai Supreme Elder interjected, pleading on his behalf.
“Are you saying your entire Tantai Heavenly Clan is this dim-witted?” Wuming Xingyun snapped. “So foolish you can’t even discern a token’s authenticity?”
“A token’s truth lies in itself—what does the holder’s status have to do with it?” His roar shook the palace, threatening to bring it down.
“This lowly one is foolish! This lowly one is foolish!”
Seeing Wuming Xingyun’s fury, the Supreme Elder hastily apologized, abandoning his defense of Tantai Changfei.
“Hmph! Even beating a dog requires considering its master—let alone someone bearing my token.”
“You dared imprison the holder of my token. Are you dismissing me, Wuming Xingyun, or the Starfield Main Realm entirely? I’d love to hear how you explain this!”
Wuming Xingyun stood with hands clasped behind his back, his anger swelling. He wasn’t letting this slide without an answer.
The Tantai Supreme Elder’s face paled. Despite his lofty status, he too knelt. “My lord, we wouldn’t dare! It’s a misunderstanding—a genuine misunderstanding! The Tantai Clan has always been loyal to the Starfield Main Realm!”
“My lord, it’s truly a mistake. Please give Elder Changfei a chance!”
…
Soon, every Tantai Clan member in the hall knelt, scrambling to explain and beg for leniency.
Wuming Xingyun’s words had terrified them.
They knew the stakes. The Linghu Heavenly Clan was vying for control of the Ancestral Martial Starfield, aggressively recruiting allies.
The Linghu Clan had indeed approached them.
But the Tantai Clan wanted no part in that storm and had declined.
To them, whether the Starfield Main Realm or the Linghu Clan ruled, the outcome was the same—they’d bow either way.
Besides, the Starfield Main Realm had treated them well over the years.
They couldn’t be sure the Linghu Clan would do the same, so they’d refrained from jumping ship.
Still, this was a delicate time. They couldn’t afford to offend the Linghu Clan—or worse, let the Starfield Main Realm suspect disloyalty.
Yet, despite their pleas, Wuming Xingyun’s fury didn’t wane.
In normal times—or with anyone else from the Starfield Main Realm—this might’ve been brushed off lightly.
The Tantai Clan was under the Main Realm’s rule, true, but their strength wasn’t trivial. The Main Realm needed to keep them in line, lest they defect to the Linghu Clan.
But Wuming Xingyun was a unique figure in the Main Realm.
He didn’t meddle in internal politics, acting on his own whims—a free spirit.
Had he not been close with Wuming Fenghuo, he’d never have entrusted his token to him.
He’d told Wuming Fenghuo that whoever bore the token—along with his letter—could ask any favor, and he’d grant it.
That Chu Clan junior had come with his token, clearly seeking help.
Yet he’d been treated like this. It wasn’t just a slap to Wuming Fenghuo’s face—it was a slap to his own.
That’s why his rage burned so fiercely now.
“I’ve heard the Linghu Clan’s been cozying up to the Tantai Clan lately. Their Supreme Elder, Linghu Boyuan, and that brat Linghu Hongfei—are they here on Ice Summit Peak? Seems the Tantai Clan thinks they can cozy up to the Linghu Clan and stop taking the Starfield Main Realm seriously,” the Fox Immortal Lady chimed in, her smile dripping with mischief. She was clearly fanning the flames, relishing the chaos.
The Tantai Supreme Elder’s eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness as the situation spiraled.
…
Unaware of the drama unfolding atop Ice Summit Peak, Chu Feng had no time to ponder it.
He was now trapped in the infamous fire prison beneath the peak.
Forged by the Tantai Clan using a formation left by the Boundary Spirit Immortal King, its power was formidable.
This was a standalone space—no sun or moon above, no earth below. All around was a fiery red glow, like flames or blood.
The only sounds were the ceaseless clinking of chains and the wails of tormented souls—a living hell.
But what kept Chu Feng from dwelling on the prison’s horrors wasn’t its terror.
It was something in the southwest corner…
There stood a mountain, barren of life, its bald slopes made of crimson stone.
His Heavenly Eyes told him: that place… was no ordinary spot.
