Chapter 1177 - 1176: Challenging Authority?

Everyone hurriedly looked over.

They saw that the jade bracelet was simple and unadorned, with patterns on its surface. It looked extremely ancient, as if it had an extraordinary origin.

Indeed.

This was precisely that bracelet of Ye Qingchen's.

"Brother Su, where did you get this jade bracelet?"

Zhou Cunjian asked in a deep voice.

Su Qinhu naturally wouldn't reveal it; instead, he countered, "You know its origin?"

Ye Qingchen also frowned slightly, fixing his gaze on it, unable to hide the expectation in his eyes.

But Zhou Cunjian shook his head and sighed:

"The patterns on this jade bracelet are quite extraordinary. It's clearly not a jade artifact from this era. If my guess is not wrong, it's likely from those Major Clans of the old lineages… As for exactly which Major Race it comes from, with our status, there's no way we could know!"

Hearing this, Su Qinhu hurriedly turned to look at Ye Qingchen, nervous.

Ye Qingchen didn't speak, only sighed inwardly. Although he had already guessed this would be the result, when the other party actually said it out loud, he still couldn't help but feel disappointed.

This meant that the Zhou Race line of clues was completely cut off.

"Looks like, if I want to know the origin of this bracelet, I'll have to go one step further and actually get in touch with those true Holy Lands!" Ye Qingchen sighed inwardly.

As if guessing Ye Qingchen's thoughts, Su Qinhu continued to press, "Then Younger Brother Zhou, do you have any way to contact those Major Clans of the old lineages?"

Zhou Cunjian sneered at this, "Brother Su, how lofty are those Major Clans? Especially for a little character like me—do you think I can just see them whenever I want? Let alone meeting them, we don't even know where they are!"

The trail was gone.

Ye Qingchen had originally planned to leave, but after hearing this, he sat back down again.

After all.

He knew far too little about the Holy Lands.

And Su Qinhu also intentionally steered the conversation in this direction.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Cunjian showed no interest. Instead, he said blandly, "Brother Su, the pills you promised me—can they be delivered now? And what you said earlier, about using Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to exchange for some supplies from us—was that true?"

"It's true!"

Seeing Zhou Cunjian avoiding talk of the Holy Lands, Su Qinhu grew anxious, but he couldn't push too hard. "We already discussed this before. I don't know what advice Younger Brother Zhou has?"

"Not enough."

Zhou Cunjian spoke with a half-smile.

Hearing this, Su Qinhu's brows furrowed tightly.

One had to know, the Su Clan, under the pretext of needing a large amount of supplies to rebuild, had offered extremely generous terms just to get the Zhou Clan to come. To satisfy the appetite of this old fox Zhou Cunjian, the Su Clan had already taken a huge loss.

Yet the other party still said it wasn't enough. This stirred a faint anger in him. Forcing down his displeasure, Su Qinhu asked in a deep voice, "I don't know, what else does Younger Brother Zhou want?"

Zhou Cunjian raised his right hand and pointed at a person:

"I want him."

"What?"

The moment these words left his mouth, not only did Su Qinhu's expression change drastically, even Su Nanxuan and Su Tianhai's faces twisted.

The one Zhou Cunjian wanted was no one else.

It was precisely Ye Qingchen!

"Me?"

Ye Qingchen lifted his brows, a trace of amusement appearing on his face. He had long noticed that ever since he came in, the other side had been surreptitiously sizing him up.

He hadn't expected this to be what they were scheming.

"Yes." Zhou Cunjian sat there as if everything was under his control, unhurriedly lifting his cup of tea as he said, "This Ye the Demon once injured two Elders of my clan in the Ice and Snow Divine Palace. Our Zhou Clan has been looking for him…"

"Who would've thought that he has now fallen into your hands! I'm not asking for much—just let this brat come to our Zhou Race and atone for thirty years!"

"As soon as thirty years are up, I'll immediately send him back, and I guarantee that not even a single hair on him will be missing!"

In Zhou Cunjian's view—

The condition he'd proposed struck right at the Su Clan's weak spot. They had just gone through a great war and were in desperate need of resources. Asking Ye Qingchen to serve him for thirty years was neither too much nor too little.

In thirty years, the Zhou Race could at least produce a dozen Celestial Immortals.

"Absolutely not!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Su Qinhu stood up and shouted.

If Ye Qingchen really fell into their hands, never mind lending him out for thirty years—if the benefits were large enough, even three hundred years would not be a problem. But the key issue was…

This person still held their lives in his hands.

"If you're unwilling, then we naturally have nothing more to discuss!" Zhou Cunjian said with a faint smile.

The people of the Zhou Race all wore proud expressions.

Many Elders even looked furious.

"Once this Ye the Demon arrives at our Zhou Race, we'll give him a proper lesson!"

"Heh, the famous Celestial South Fierce God, Ye the Demon who once rampaged through a region, is now being fought over like a piece of cargo. You have to admit, that's a tremendous irony."

Especially Zhou Ye, who stared coldly at Ye Qingchen, his face full of sneers. Though he didn't speak, the mockery in his eyes was practically overflowing. He was still a member of a Holy Land Race, while this Ye the Demon had already become a prisoner beneath others.

Presumably, the feeling of being unable to control his own fate at this moment wouldn't be very pleasant!

"This…"

Su Qinhu stood there, for a moment not knowing what to do.

On one side was Ye Qingchen, on the other Zhou Cunjian—this was clearly a dead knot that couldn't be undone.

"Obviously, you should get lost."

Sitting to the side, Ye Qingchen suddenly spoke.

"What?"

Zhou Cunjian's gaze sharpened as he looked coldly at Ye Qingchen.

For Su Qinhu to speak was one thing. But Ye Qingchen was merely the Su Clan's prisoner; how dared he butt in on such an occasion? In the Holy Lands where hierarchy was everything, this was blatant insubordination.

"Su Qinhu, this slave of yours dares interrupt here—it just shows how poorly he's been disciplined! Since you can't bear to do it, I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

Zhou Cunjian's eyes turned cold. He lifted his hand with a wave, and a surge of Power ripped through the void, drawing a white wave of air as it swept fiercely toward Ye Qingchen's face. That Powerful Qi let out an extremely sharp sound, like a low growl of dragons and tigers.

Zhou Cunjian!

Celestial Immortal Sixth Layer!

His strength was even above Su Qinhu's. Although this slap seemed casual and light, at his level, how could any strike be ordinary?

"Presumptuous!"

Su Qinhu's face changed drastically as he rose and roared.

But it was already too late. That surge of Power tore through the sky, and had already blasted toward Ye Qingchen's face.

Zhou Cunjian's expression remained indifferent, ready to give this insolent brat a harsh lesson. Zhou Ye's face was full of sneers, as if lamenting that Ye Qingchen still didn't clearly recognize his own status.

The other members of the Zhou Clan also stared ahead with mocking faces, wanting to see how this defiant Ye the Demon would look in his humiliation. But they saw Ye Qingchen's expression remain calm as he lightly pointed a finger.

Clang!

All of a sudden, the sound of a sword rang out.

Its tone was clear and resonant, soaring straight into the Ninth Heaven!