At this moment, the Wuji Heavenly Venerable was almost shaking with exhilaration. Were it not for the several other Saint-realm experts standing beside him, he would have thrown his head back and laughed like a madman.
Jiang Wudao and Ling Menghan had long been tossed to the back of his mind.
The original reason he had come to the Undying Mountain was simple: kill Ye Qiu, seize the Qiankun Cauldron, and avenge his illegitimate daughter Xu Yourong.
Yet who could have foreseen that, through Wu Qianfan’s memories, he would discover Ye Qiu carried a whole vault of supreme treasures?
“Hm? There is also a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox at Ye Changsheng’s side?”
“The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox possesses the purest demon bloodline. If I obtain it, I can refine it into medicine, and my cultivation will soar.”
“Ye Changsheng, oh Ye Changsheng, you really are a walking treasure trove!”
The Wuji Heavenly Venerable made up his mind: no matter the cost, he would wrest every single one of those treasures from Ye Qiu’s hands.
The other Saints grew impatient at his prolonged silence.
“Heavenly Venerable, what else did you find?” Tuo Ba Yunhe demanded.
The Wuji Heavenly Venerable answered, “Ye Changsheng also killed Pei Gang, wiped out Cao Mao, and both Wei Wuji and Yao Meng perished by his hand.”
“Furthermore, the Buddha-son of the Great Thunderclap Temple was crippled by him and only escaped using a divine artefact.”
What? All those heavenly geniuses had died at Ye Changsheng’s hands?
The Saints present were stunned speechless. The cultivators kneeling on the ground goggled in disbelief.
Until today, none of them had even heard the name Ye Changsheng, yet this unknown youth had slaughtered so many chosen prodigies.
Rage surged to the heavens among the Saints.
“Who is this Ye Changsheng? Where did he crawl out from? How dare he kill my grandson?” Tuo Ba Yunhe’s voice boomed like rolling thunder, shaking the void itself.
An Zaitian roared, “Well done, Ye Changsheng! You murdered my grandson. From this day forward, only one of us will remain alive!”
Li Chaohui stayed relatively calm and asked, “Which sect does Ye Changsheng belong to? Why have we never heard of him before?”
The Wuji Heavenly Venerable replied, “He is nothing more than a rogue cultivator.”
Gasps of shock rose all around. The Saints revealed expressions of utter incredulity.
“A mere rogue cultivator dares act so brazenly?”
“He shows no regard for any of the top sects of the Eastern Wilderness. Who gave him such audacity?”
“Has he grown weary of living?”
The Saints itched to seize Ye Qiu immediately and flay him alive.
“Heavenly Venerable, where is Ye Changsheng right now?” An Zaitian demanded.
“He is still inside the Undying Mountain and has not emerged.” The soul-searching was complete. Wu Qianfan’s face was deathly pale, as though he had suffered a severe illness. His entire body was limp and powerless.
Although the Soul-Searching Art had not killed him, the damage to his primordial spirit was immense. He was now so frail that even an ordinary mortal could end his life with ease.
“Excellent. I will wait here. The instant Ye Changsheng steps out, I will grind his bones to dust,” An Zaitian declared, his killing intent boundless.
“But before we kill Ye Changsheng, I must first kill this bastard. He dared deceive us all. He courts death.” Tuo Ba Yunhe hurled a punch through the air at Wu Qianfan.
A Saint’s might shakes the heavens.
Tuo Ba Yunhe’s fist imprint resembled a colossal mountain peak, utterly terrifying.
Let alone Wu Qianfan at the mere peak of Cave-Heaven realm; even a peak Tongshen cultivator could not withstand a Saint’s blow.
Moreover, in his current weakened state, Wu Qianfan could only watch the god of death approach.
“Ye Changsheng, you must avenge me,” he thought silently.
At the razor’s edge between life and death.
Crack!
The Wuji Heavenly Venerable flicked his right hand. A ferocious storm swept forth, instantly scattering Tuo Ba Yunhe’s fist imprint into nothingness.
“Heavenly Venerable, why did you stop me from killing him?” Tuo Ba Yunhe asked, somewhat annoyed.
“Do you know why this boy lied to us?” the Wuji Heavenly Venerable said with a smile. “Because he has already acknowledged Ye Changsheng as his master.”
What?
Another wave of astonishment swept through the kneeling cultivators.
The exalted prince of Great Zhou, a peak Cave-Heaven genius, had actually disregarded imperial dignity and royal status to submit to another as servant? It was simply inconceivable.
The Wuji Heavenly Venerable continued, “One more piece of news for you all: Ye Changsheng has become intimate with Yun Shan’s daughter.”
Whoosh!
Every face changed colour in unison.
“No wonder Ye Changsheng dares oppose all our sects. So he is Yun Shan’s son-in-law,” Li Chaohui said gravely.
Tuo Ba Yunhe gave a cold snort. “Hmph. I care not what his status is. He killed my grandson. He will pay with blood.”
An Zaitian declared, “Even if it were Yun Shan himself who killed my grandson, I would slaughter him all the same.”
Several million li away, concealed within the void, Yun Shan wore a disdainful sneer and muttered, “A worthless trash thinks he can kill me? Delusional.”
“Still, for Ye Changsheng to have slain so many heavenly geniuses is rather surprising.”
“From this it seems the boy has decent talent, decent guts, and decent looks… though naturally not quite matching my youthful splendour.”
“No matter how excellent you are, hmph, you dared to deceive my daughter. I will not let you off.”
Outside the Undying Mountain.
An Zaitian pointed at Wu Qianfan and said to the Wuji Heavenly Venerable, “Heavenly Venerable, this brat spun nothing but lies and nearly fooled us all. He cannot be allowed to live.”
“Though he lied, he did not personally kill any disciples from our sects. Let him live a little longer. After we have dealt with Ye Changsheng, I will slaughter him myself.”
That was what the Wuji Heavenly Venerable said aloud, but inwardly he had no intention of killing Wu Qianfan.
He kept Wu Qianfan alive for two reasons: first, as a hostage when capturing Ye Qiu; second, because Wu Qianfan was a prince of Great Zhou. Once this matter was settled, he could negotiate terms with the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. If they did not wish their prince dead, they would have to pay a price.
He intended to squeeze every last drop of value from Wu Qianfan.
With a casual flick of his palm, Wu Qianfan dropped from the void and collapsed onto the ground.
“Fairy Nangong, the boy still breathes and remains usable. Care to give him a try?” the Wuji Heavenly Venerable teased. “Only he is far too frail now. I fear he could not endure your attentions.”
Nangong Jingyun replied, “I have lost interest in him. It is Ye Changsheng who now piques my curiosity.”
“I very much wish to see just how capable Ye Changsheng is to have killed so many geniuses.”
“Speaking of which, Heavenly Venerable, did the supreme opportunity of the Undying Mountain also fall into Ye Changsheng’s hands?”
At these words, Li Chaohui, Tuo Ba Yunhe, and An Zaitian all turned sharply toward the Wuji Heavenly Venerable.
He laughed. “On that point the prince of Great Zhou did not lie. The supreme opportunity was obtained by Wu Hua. Once we have disposed of Ye Changsheng, we shall pay a joint visit to the Great Thunderclap Temple.”
Seeing the Saints had nearly finished talking, Wu Tiancai stepped forward. “Sect Leader, was there any information about my sons in the boy’s memories?”
“Yes,” the Wuji Heavenly Venerable answered. “One of your sons died by Ye Changsheng’s hand. The other was killed by Yun Xi of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect.”
Wu Tiancai clenched his fists until they creaked, gnashing his teeth. “Ye Changsheng, Yun Xi… I will never forgive you.”
Just then, a plump figure swaggered out from the spatial rift as though he owned the place.
