Chapter 165 - 99: Clay Chickens and Pottery Dogs (2)

Chapter 165: Chapter 99: Clay Chickens and Pottery Dogs (2)

Xuzhuang nodded. He paid Lieyun no mind and asked, "And you, fellow Daoist? What is your name?"

Song Yuming knew his place and replied, "I am Song Yuming of the Divine Flow Sect."

’So it is the Divine Flow Sect,’ Xuzhuang thought, unsurprised. He said calmly, "Fellow Daoist, you should know why I’ve kept you here."

Song Yuming gave a bitter smile. "Yes. I am willing to reveal everything about this matter, from beginning to end. I will also offer detailed intelligence on the Divine Flow Sect. I only ask that Your Eminence spare my life and allow me to serve you like a loyal dog."

"Oh?" Xuzhuang was surprised by the man’s groveling. He smiled. "Fellow Daoist, with the Divine Flow Sect at your back, why would you need to pledge fealty to me?"

Song Yuming said dejectedly, "Your Eminence is unaware. I couldn’t stand the way Chu Wei does things, and we didn’t get along. I was once the direct disciple of a Venerable myself, so he couldn’t do anything to me."

"Unfortunately, after my late master passed away, I lost his protection. My situation has become difficult. Now that I’ve failed this task, even if you spare my life, I can’t return to the Divine Flow Sect."

"I see." Xuzhuang mused, "If what you say satisfies me, I will grant you one chance."

Hearing this, Song Yuming immediately bowed deeply. "My Lord," he exclaimed. "My Lord may ask anything. This humble one will hold nothing back."

"Good." Xuzhuang nodded and asked, "From what you said just now, was this matter indeed orchestrated by Young Master Chu Wei?"

"That’s right," Song Yuming said. "Chu Wei gathered a group of us—eleven Golden Core Cultivators in total—to capture your sect’s flood dragon and use it to lure you out, My Lord."

At this, Song Yuming smiled bitterly again. "Who would have thought that the eleven of us... could barely even handle your flood dragon, let alone withstand your Divine Techniques for a single moment, My Lord."

Xuzhuang’s eyes narrowed. "So they were plotting against me after all."

Hearing this, Song Yuming added, "Exactly. Chu Wei has always been arrogant. When you caused him to lose face, he felt it was a profound humiliation. He ordered us to capture you alive so he could torture you to vent his hatred."

"Oh?" Xuzhuang’s gaze fell upon him. He sized him up and said with a faint, unreadable smile, "Fellow Daoist, you seem quite eager to incite me against Young Master Chu Wei."

Song Yuming hurriedly said, "This humble one wouldn’t dare! Having pledged allegiance to you, My Lord, how could I not consider your interests? The truth is, Chu Wei is perverse and domineering, and he seeks revenge for the smallest grievance. Now that his plan has failed, he certainly won’t let the matter rest. You must be on your guard, My Lord."

"That makes sense. Besides, if you can get me to act against Chu Wei and eliminate your enemy for you, that would be a fine thing indeed," Xuzhuang said leisurely. "Of course, if I were to provoke Venerable Chu River and get myself killed by him, you’d regain your freedom. That would be even better for you, wouldn’t it?"

Song Yuming’s face went pale, and his temples grew damp with sweat. He said hastily, "I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare! My Lord, you misunderstand! This humble one may have his own thoughts, but I would never dare to plot against you! Venerable Chu River has been placed under confinement by the Five Domains Great Sects and is forbidden from venturing outside."

"Confinement?" Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Tell me everything."

Song Yuming replied, "Yes. Venerable Chu River clashed with a Venerable from the Dragon Image Sect and seemed to have violated some rule. The Five Domains Great Sects issued a decree, confining him until the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly. The Celestial Permanence Sect even sent people specifically to guard him. He hasn’t been seen in a long time."

Xuzhuang listened carefully, a thoughtful expression on his face. ’On the surface, it sounds like the Five Domains Great Sects are united and confined Venerable Chu River for the sake of the Dragon Image Sect. But if that were truly the case, why leave him an out by allowing his release at the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly? Something about this is strange.’

Xuzhuang pondered for a few moments, a guess forming in his mind. He suddenly spoke. "I ask you, do you know where Young Master Chu Wei is right now?"

Song Yuming was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Chu Wei built a traveling palace outside the Celestial Waterfall in Fenglan Province. He should be there now, indulging himself."

Xuzhuang nodded and asked again, "Are there any Nascent Soul experts stationed in Fenglan Province?"

Song Yuming said, "No. Both of the Divine Flow Sect’s Venerables are currently at the main sect."

Xuzhuang smiled faintly. "Good. In that case, it’s not impossible to grant your wish."

Song Yuming was stunned. "My Lord, you mean...?"

But Xuzhuang turned to the side and instructed, "Lieyun, take the two from the Moyun Sect back to our headquarters. Wait for my return to deal with them."

Lieyun answered with a deep rumble. Only then did Xuzhuang turn back. With a flick of his wide sleeve, a powerful force lifted Song Yuming into the air. Xuzhuang smiled. "This will be a swift raid, and I’ll need you to guide the way. It’s best I carry you with my Flying Escape."

Without waiting for a response, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light that shot through the clouds, reaching the horizon in an instant.

—

Outside the Celestial Waterfall in Fenglan Province was a ring of low mountains, completely covered in palaces. With a new story every five steps and a new pavilion every ten, it was the very definition of luxury.

In one of the main halls, Chu Wei was lounging in the arms of a serving girl, letting her feed him fruit as he chatted with the pale-faced man.

The man was also seated on the couch, a sign of how deeply he was favored by Chu Wei. He said, "By my calculations, they should have captured that flood dragon by now."

Chu Wei said lazily, "It’s just one flood dragon. In the future... when my Divine Flow Sect becomes a dominant power, I can find another one. Having two flood dragons pull my chariot—now that would be an impressive sight! Hahaha."

The pale-faced man said, "Capturing the flood dragon is a small matter. But luring out and killing that Xuzhuang... I wonder if they can actually succeed."

"They’re all Golden Core Cultivators. If eleven of them can’t succeed in a siege, they might as well just die. Any more cultivation would be a waste," Chu Wei said with disdain. "Instead of worrying about that, I’m more worried those old freaks will be too heavy-handed and kill him. Then I won’t get to vent my anger on him personally."

The pale-faced man smiled. "In that case, Young Master, why not go see the miserable sight of Xuzhuang being besieged by eleven men yourself?"

Chu Wei looked surprised. "Are you a pig? Do you know who I am? Even if it’s a sure thing, why should someone of my status take a risk personally?"

At this, they both clapped their hands and laughed loudly. Young Master Chu Wei grew excited and shouted, "When they bring Xuzhuang here later, we’ll need food and wine to celebrate! " He called over a manager and ordered, "Go get some wine! Oh, and I want to have some ’Beauty Cake’ today. Take care of that as well."

Hearing this, a troubled look appeared on the manager’s face. He replied, "We have no more ’Beauty Cake’ in stock at the palace."

Chu Wei frowned. "No stock? Aren’t there any misbehaving slave girls in the palace?"

The manager replied, "Recently... there have been none."

Chu Wei said impatiently, "If there are none, then just find a couple and ’deal with them’. Do I have to spell everything out for you?"

Seeing the displeasure on his face, the manager felt a chill in his heart. He said hurriedly, "Yes, yes! This lowly one will see to it at once."

The manager left the main hall, his heart heavy with sorrow. As he was worrying, the sky suddenly darkened. He looked up, and his eyes filled with terror.

He saw a massive mountain formed of cloud-qi break through the cloud layer and come crashing down. It fell with incredible speed, stirring up howling Gang Winds and generating trails of fire from the friction. In an instant, the sky turned crimson, and then the mountain smashed heavily into the main hall where Chu Wei was!

BOOM! The entire ring of low mountains around the Celestial Waterfall shuddered. White qi exploded outward, scattering across the sky, leaving only a ruin of shattered crystal pressed into the mountainside.

"Young Master... Young Master!" The manager’s jaw dropped, his soul practically fleeing his body.

High up in the cloudy sky, Song Yuming’s eyes were wide as he stammered, "My Lord, this... doesn’t this violate the rules of the Celestial Waterfall Dharma Assembly?"

"Does it?" Xuzhuang watched the streaks of escape light rising from the palace complex below and heading straight for the sky. He smiled faintly and asked, "Who’s going to know?"

Song Yuming froze. Xuzhuang was already carrying him again. With a single movement, he used the clouds to execute a Water Escape and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye. By the time several Golden Core Cultivators from the Divine Flow Sect had flown up into the sky together, there was nothing left but empty, blue heavens.

The group sped off in all directions to search, but they found no trace of anyone. When they gathered again, their faces were all grim.

Before long, another streak of light flew up into the clouds. A cultivator said in a heavy voice, "If my investigation is correct, Young Master Chu Wei was in that main hall... There’s no way he survived."

Someone with an ashen face said, "The killer left no trace. If the Venerable holds us accountable, what are we going to do?"

One man, who seemed to be the leader, his face dark and gloomy, asked in a stern voice, "What has Chu Wei been doing recently? Did he have a grudge with anyone? Go investigate, now!"

His last words became a sharp roar. Not daring to delay, the cultivators immediately scattered.