B9C3: Hidden crisis
“Yan Mo, what’s the meaning of this?!”
Old Freak Three-Eyed, who has been sitting with legs crossed in meditation, suddenly stands up. His aura surges and his green hair flows. The crack right between his eyebrows opens, revealing his 3rd eye, which is sparkling with a green light. Having become extremely furious, he glares at Yan Mo.
Reverend Yan Xu and the others from the Penglai Immortal Region, Qin Yu and his 2 brothers from the Stellar Tower also stand up suddenly and look angrily at Yan Mo. Their eyes are flashing with coldness. In contrast, Azure Dragon frowns deeply. His eyes, which are looking at Yan Mo, occasionally glitter with coldness.
Yi Da’s face turns blue. He points at Yan Mo and says without delay: “Yan Mo, we 6 powers have already agreed to let you join us, so the 7 sides of us can be considered an alliance. Why did you still kill your allies without permission?”
His tone becomes cold: “What do want by killing at will? Today you killed the 3 Di brothers so tomorrow you’ll kill us, right?”
As soon as Yi Da says so, everybody stares furiously at Yan Mo with surging killing intent. Obviously, if Yan Mo says a provocative word, Reverend Yan Xu and the others will disregard everything to chase and kill him.
Yan Mo is too powerful so it will take the combined force of the 4 top experts, Azure Dragon, Old Freak Three-Eyed, Reverend Yan Xu and Yi Da, to just slightly restrain him. If they let Yan Mo go this time and if next time one of these 4 experts gets killed by him, they will not be able to restrain him anymore even if they want.
A belligerent element must not be allowed to exist!
“Ah ~~~” Yan Mo stretches his waist then says laughingly: “What are you doing? Why does everybody want to kill me? Could I have done something that evokes the wrath of both Heaven and men?” His expression is full of bafflement.
Azure Dragon narrows his eyes then says: “Yan Mo, because you’ve joined us, our 7 sides are an alliance. Let me ask you something. Why did you kill the 3 Di brothers? How can we trust you later on when you’ve already killed your allies?”
“If we can’t trust you, how can we possibly go open the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion with you?” Azure Dragon stares at Yan Mo.
The experts of the other 5 powers, the Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, the Azure Dragon, the Blue Water Mansion and the Stellar Tower, all look coldly at Yan Mo in a very unfriendly manner. Now they have formed a complete circle. Only by joining forces can they subdue him.
“Don’t be rude to Overlord.” The snowy cat shouts coldly. Qin Yu’s and the others’ faces change color. This snowy cat appears to be a cat but she is actually a divine beast Zhe Chu that has reached the middle Dongxu stage. Therefore she is also extremely powerful.
“Xiao Xue, you must treat guests politely.” Yan Mo shouts in a low voice.
“Yes.” The snowy cat answers obediently then stands quietly beside him again.
Yan Mo looks smilingly at his angry guests, saying: “Oh, this is just a small matter. I even thought it was some big problem.” Yan Mo says in a totally unconcerned manner.
“A small matter? Killing us is a small matter? If later you kill me, will that be a big problem or still a small matter?” Reverend Yan Xu says coldly.
“Of course it’d be a big problem.” Yan Mo says in a surprised manner. “Reverend Yan Xu, you’re the grand elder of the Qingxu Temple in the Northern Territory. What kind of status do you have? If I killed you, the Qingxu Temple on the Teng Long continent would surely send experts to find me and cause me trouble. How could I be stupid enough to kill you?”
Reverend Yan Xu is startled.
Qin Yu, Azure Dragon, Yi Da and the others are also startled.
Yan Mo says very solemnly: “The Penglai Immortal Region’s schools are merely branches of schools on the Teng Long continent. Though your power levels are average, you’re backed by your schools. I’m not such a fool that I’d provoke you.”
Yan Mo looks at Yi Da and his subordinates: “Likewise, I won’t easily offend the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon’s men either because on the Teng Long continent Xiumoists are about as powerful as Xiuxianists.”
“As for the Blue Water Mansion, Three-Eyed, you still haven’t used the true power of your 3rd eye, right?” Yan Mo says with a smile.
The look in Old Freak Three-Eyed’s eyes turns grim. He then says coldly: “Why don’t you have a taste of it?”
Yan Mo says smilingly in an unconcerned manner: “I don’t want to. You’re quite weaker than me and I’m pretty sure I can kill you too, but … a Three-Blue-Eyed toad is a fairly formidable divine beast. If you strike me a desperate blow with your 3rd eye, even I will be badly injured. I don’t want to carry out such a disadvantageous exchange.”
There is nothing special about the attacks that Old Freak Three-Eyed usually executes with his 3rd eye, but facing death, he will use the 3rd eye to launch a desperate, all-out attack, which is so powerful that not even Yan Mo will dare to take it lightly.
“As for Azure Dragon, you’re a member of some family in the dragon clan, right?” Yan Mo asks.
Azure Dragon says with a smile: “The Yan family, Yan Mo, looks like you’ve already forgotten me.”
Yan Mo is startled then gives a ha-ha laugh: “The Yan family, I never expected to run into a member of my family here. In the dragon clan, the Yan family has a whole lot of members. Quite a few of them are of the same generation as me but I’m only acquainted with 2 or 3 of them. I don’t know the others and I don’t feel like knowing them either.”
“Azure Dragon, there’s no need to explain why I won’t kill you, right? The dragon clan lets you stay in the Northern Territory so it must consider you important. If I killed you, it would casually send an old monster over here and then even the inner ruler wouldn’t be able to protect me.”
As a member of the dragon clan, Yan Mo naturally knows how powerful it is.
“As for the Stellar Tower, I heard it has the backing of a loose immortal who is tower master Qin Yu’s uncle, right? Azure Dragon, tell me, what’s the level of that loose immortal?” Yan Mo says smilingly to Azure Dragon in a seemingly very enthusiastic manner.
Azure Dragon looks frowningly at him: “Yan Mo, at that time you were very grim and arrogant. Since when have you become so oily?”
Yan Mo is startled.
Grim and arrogant?
When he was still in the Yan family in the past, he was indeed grim and arrogant and different from his peers. However … after so many years of struggling for survival in the Wilderness, he has changed a lot.
Remembering his days in the dragon clan and his experiences in so many years, Yan Mo falls into a trance, but he wakes up immediately then says smilingly to Azure Dragon: “I asked you but you replied with a question. Just tell me what loose immortal level tower master Qin Yu’s uncle has actually reached.”
“I don’t know for sure.”
Azure Dragon’s eyes have a tinge of doubt: “Yan Mo, Qin Yu’s Uncle Lan is extremely strong. I feel that he’s even more formidable than the strongest experts I’ve seen in the dragon clan, which means he’s … at least a 6th tribulation loose immortal.”
“At least a 6th tribulation loose immortal?” Yan Mo falls silent.
“I once saw that Uncle Lan teleport both Qin Yu and Hou Fei directly with him. Teleportation is a magic power only 4th tribulation loose immortals and above can use. Qin Yu’s Uncle Lan can even teleport 2 others with him. This power level …” Azure Dragon shakes his head with a forced smile.
Yan Mo’s expression becomes solemn: “He may not only be a 6th tribulation loose immortal.”
At this moment, after hearing what Yan Mo and Azure Dragon just said to each other, Reverend Huo Tian and Reverend Di Feng look coldly at Reverend Yan Xu. This is because in the past Reverend Yan Xu told them that Uncle Lan was merely a common loose immortal and did not deserve attention.
However, now, judging from what they just heard, it seems that Uncle Lan is awfully powerful.
They must treat any loose immortal who has overcome the 4th tribulation carefully, not to mention a 6th tribulation loose immortal. Even the headmasters of their schools on the Teng Long continent will have to treat such a super expert with caution too.
“Ha-ha, brother Qin Yu.” Yan Mo embraces Qin Yu’s shoulders.
Qin Yu cannot help getting frightened inwardly, but he still suppresses the thought of attacking Yan Mo. Even though he is worried by Yan Mo embracing his shoulders, he believes that Yan Mo will not attack him.
While hugging Qin Yu’s shoulders, Yan Mo says enthusiastically: “Brother Qin Yu, you don’t have to worry. Even if I’m bold, I don’t have a death wish. Your Uncle Lan can probably destroy me with just a finger. Dacheng stage divine beasts will be no match for him either. So … do you think I’ll dare to kill you?”
Qin Yu says nothing.
Everybody understands this reason, but there is no need to say it out. This Yan Mo fellow … is really strange.
Qin Yu also feels that after knowing about Uncle Lan’s power, Yan Mo treats him very differently.
“So everybody has understood, right? In spite of my background, if I die, the dragon clan probably won’t care about me. Azure Dragon, you should know that I’m not lying, right?” There is a faint forced smile on the corners of Yan Mo’s mouth.
Azure Dragon slightly nods his head.
When Yan Mo was young, he was frivolous and ignorant so he left the dragon clan. Losing the strong backing of the clan was not a blessing to him. Under the wing of the dragon clan, he would not necessarily have been unable to really mature.
Yan Mo glances at everybody and says with a smile: “See, I’m at least not stupid enough to provoke you. As for why I killed the 3 Di brothers, humph, they were merely 3 Purple Demon aquatic dragons with no backing. I’m even doubtful about … why you let the Nine Demons Hall become a major power in the overseas Xiuzhen world.”
There is incomprehension in his eyes: “The Nine Demons Hall doesn’t have experts, nor does it have any backing.”
“Even so, they still wanted to go to the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion to contend for treasures. Weren’t they afraid that immortal-class weapons would be too hot for them to handle?” The look in Yan Mo’s eyes is disdainful. Obviously, among the 6 major powers of the overseas Xiuzhen world, he looks down on the Nine Demons Hall the most. This is also the reason why he got into action.
Yan Mo looks at everybody, saying: “They’re a power with no experts or backing, I’m curious to know why you didn’t kill them to take their jade sword, which in the end suited my convenience?”
After everybody heard Yan Mo say these words, their hostility decreases.
Azure Dragon says smilingly: “Yan Mo, when I and Three-Eyed were fighting each other fiercely in the past, these 9 little worms appeared. By relying on formations and joining forces, they could greatly improve their power. Even I found it a little troublesome to deal with them so we simply let them become the 3rd major power in the underwater Xiuyao world, which is located between me and Three-Eyed, to make it more stable.”
“Oh, I see.” Yan Mo understands.
The Nine Demons Hall is just a balancing element. The Azure Dragon Palace and the Blue Water Mansion were about equally powerful and had been fighting so fiercely that they did not want to fight anymore, so they have been allowing the Nine Demons Hall to exist as a buffer zone between them. In fact, both the Azure Dragon Palace and the Blue Water Mansion have never thought highly of the Nine Demons Hall.
……
In the place where the soul jade slips of the Nine Demons Hall are kept,
Every day, someone comes to check this place once. Today, the time for checking has come again. The guard squad leader lazily opens the gate of the place with drooping eyes and takes a glance at the counter.
There should be only 4 soul jade slips on the top shelf because, after all, the other 5 majesties are already dead.
“Ah!” That squad leader’s eyes pop out of his head. His jaw drops. He seems to be saying something, but no sounds are coming out. At the moment, he is totally scared stiff, as if he has been struck by lightning.
The 2 most powerful majesties of the Nine Demons Hall are Di Long and Di Jian. Even though 5 other majesties already died, as long as these 2 are around, the Nine Demons Hall will be fairly stable.
However —
Now only 1 among the 4 soul jade slips on the top shelf is intact. The 3 soul jade slips of Di Long, Di Jian and Di Xu have shattered completely. The squad leader of course understands the meaning of this.
He swallows hard with his dry throat. Knowing that this is a serious matter, he does not even dare to shout and tries to calm his fear. He then executes the hand sign for closing the gate and rushes towards Di Nai’s palace.
“9th majesty, the squad leader of the soul jade slips’ keeping place requests an audience.”
“Let him come in.”
Di Nai’s expression is somewhat unsightly. The squad leader in charge of the soul jade slips is the one he does not want to see the most because when this guy comes, that means at least a relatively important member of the Nine Demons Hall has died.
The squad leader suddenly kneels down upon his entrance.
When Di Nai sees the squad leader’s behavior, his heart immediately skips a beat.
At the moment, the squad leader’s eyes are slightly red, there is terror deep in his pupils and his lips are white. Even though he is trying to suppress his fear, his expression says it all. What can actually terrify the squad leader like this?
“Say it. What happened?” Di Nai shouts coldly. His breathing becomes heavy.
“9th, 9th majesty.” The squad leader’s throat is very dry like that of a traveller who has not drunk water for a very long time. “9th majesty, great majesty and the other majesties, they … they …”
Hearing this, Di Nai only feels his head spinning. But there is still a glimmer of hope left in him. He continues to ask: “Tell me clearly. What happened to them? If you lie, I’ll destroy your soul.”
There is only a glimmer of hope.
“They are dead. All of them are already dead.” Right after saying this, the squad leader sits down in paralysis. Even so, he feels much less worried now. A moment ago, he was under very great pressure because he was suppressing such a big matter in his heart.
“I got it. You can go, but don’t tell anybody about this.” Di Nai says calmly as if nothing has happened.
“Yes.” That squad leader hurriedly goes backwards.
Di Nai then keeps sitting in his chair, looking very collected. However, he does not notice that his face has turned dreadfully pale.
A blank, his mind is a blank.
Di Nai remains seated in this way. He appears to be not thinking, but in fact his mind is thinking about many things. Now time is basically meaningless to him. Only when a long time has passed does he feel that his heart is in … great pain.
The ladies-in-waiting of the palace simply do not dare to approach him. He has been sitting in such an apathetic manner for 3 whole days, but the ladies-in-waiting do not know that, to him, these 3 days seemed endless and also seemed instantaneous.
“Phew, phew, phew …” Di Nai breathes heavily like a pair of bellows. His mind is dizzy. After an indeterminate period of time, he begins to feel rotten. With a purple expression, he grabs the part of his chest near the heart with his right hand. His heart is in a lot of pain, a tearing pain.
“Big brother, 2nd brother, 3rd brother, 4th brother …” One after another, images of the 9 brothers roaming the underwater Xiuyao world in the past emerge in his eyes.
“No, my brothers aren’t necessarily dead. They may be living. Right, that squad leader must’ve lied to me. He lied to me.” Di Nai says in a low voice. His eyes then turn crimson, making him look like a psycho. In an instant, he goes out of the main hall and rushes straight towards the keeping place of the soul jade slips.
End of b9c3.