Chapter 194
Chapter 194: Lying
Upon hearing this, the disheveled scholar spoke thoughtfully: “I’ve heard Great Li Imperial Capital has seen several major events lately. Among them, Emperor Yuan Wu has acknowledged a new Eighth Prince, who had been wandering unnoticed among commoners, never before seen at Great Li’s court. Could this man perhaps be that very prince?”
The other three exchanged glances. The elderly Wu Yong replied slowly: “That possibility cannot be ruled out. Whichever prince this may be, the likelihood that the Great Li court is behind the recent action against Fallen God Peak seems quite high. Moreover, Mo Mo, that child, insists this prince’s martial dao cultivation is unfathomably profound. Perhaps he truly is Great Li’s hidden trump card.”
As soon as these words fell, Lin Tang, the voluptuous woman, showed a flicker of excitement and turned to the old man, asking: “Opportunities like this rarely arise. Maybe this is a chance for us as well.”
At that moment, a glint of anticipation flashed across the eyes of Sui Zhen, the disheveled scholar, and Lin Yue Ru.
Lin Yue Ru spoke solemnly: “I propose we immediately send word back to the church. If Great Li and Fallen God Peak are genuinely clashing, we divine born people cannot merely sit back and watch.”
Sui Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly, adding: “When two powers struggle, a third profits. Even if Great Li fails to subdue Fallen God Peak, it would still cause significant turmoil. If we seize this chance to ascend Fallen God Peak and claim the divine blood they’ve accumulated over years, both our own divine strength and our church’s power will greatly advance.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Tang and the others fell silent briefly. Finally, the elderly Wu Yong spoke: “Send this information back to the church first. With Mo Mo watching that group, we can quietly confirm their intentions and know their whereabouts at any moment.”
Hearing this, the voluptuous woman nodded but soon shook her head, sighing: “I’ll handle sending the message. But my little sister has always been playful and defiant, refusing any discipline. She’s currently following that prince. Whether she’ll even respond to us remains uncertain.”
Lin Tang sighed again deeply, shaking her head helplessly. Among all the divine born people, the three sisters were uniquely complicated, and of them, her youngest sister was the most unusual. When she decided to wander, no one could truly control her.
Wu Yong and Sui Zhen, obviously aware of this reality, simply said helplessly: “Do your best. After all, Mo Mo, that child, is on our side.”
……
At the Baili Clan mansion.
Murong Xiao Ya stood amidst roaring flames, cloaked in black robes. Her eyes were swirling pools of molten gold, her lovely face calm and coldly distant. Standing before her, the middle-aged man from Fallen God Peak and Mei Yan Yu took turns explaining the relationship between the Mei family and Fallen God Peak, occasionally pausing to answer Murong Xiao Ya’s questions.
“Miss Murong,” Mei Yan Yu pleaded nervously, “I’ve told you everything you wished to know. The Mei family had nothing to do with the four great families’ attack on your Murong family. Please, spare us and let us leave.”
Beside him, the middle-aged man from Fallen God Peak was already severely burned by flames, his flesh scorched horribly, not a single piece untouched. Writhing in unbearable agony, he desperately begged: “I’ve already told you everything! Please spare my life—if this continues, I’ll surely die…”
Murong Xiao Ya said nothing, merely raising her hand lightly.
The next instant, the middle-aged man, already nearly turned to charcoal, abruptly fell silent as his heart exploded, turning instantly into a mist of blood.
Murong Xiao Ya spoke calmly: “Father once said Fallen God Peak oppressed the Murong family for many years. We had borne their bullying silently due to their power. That ends today.”
As she finished, the charred body fell heavily, and the blood mist condensed into a stream of essence, which Murong Xiao Ya absorbed.
Seeing this scene, Mei Yan Yu and the elderly servant beside him paled dramatically. But before they could speak, Mei Yan Yu suddenly felt his heart constrict painfully. Murong Xiao Ya’s indifferent voice whispered coldly in his ears: “You spoke twenty-one sentences earlier. Three of them were lies. And I already warned you—lying to me bears consequences.”
“No—!”
“Stop!”
Mei Yan Yu and the elderly servant cried out simultaneously, but the protective Qi barrier secretly erected by the old servant around Mei Yan Yu’s heart shattered instantly. In that very moment, Mei Yan Yu’s heart exploded into a bloody mist. He barely managed to scream out in terror before life left him completely.
“Young Master!” The elderly servant shouted, filled with shock and fury, desperately reaching out to grab his master’s falling corpse. But before he could grasp it, Mei Yan Yu’s body was suddenly engulfed by crimson-golden flames, reducing him to ashes in mere seconds.
“You…you seek death!” The elderly servant’s hand halted mid-air. His aged face froze in rage, murderous intent erupting violently from his body. Turning fiercely toward Murong Xiao Ya, his wrath surged, sending the spiritual energy around him into violent upheaval.
Instantly, Qi currents boiled madly through the sky. The elderly servant stood still as a mountain, yet suffocating pressure radiated from him. Air crackled and burst under unbearable force. Everything nearby began to crumble. The grand hall, engulfed previously in flames, disintegrated into dust, bricks crushed to powder, flames snuffed out silently into smoke.
Even the firelight illuminating him warped strangely, as though even the light itself feared the ancient figure. Slowly raising his vein-knotted hand, it seemed as though he gripped the very fabric of space, slowly clenching his fist towards Murong Xiao Ya.
Murong Xiao Ya stood slim and delicate, her skin like flawless snow, red hair cascading like a waterfall, lips naturally red without adornment. She stood calmly before the vanished hall, even as immense power surged threateningly around her. Yet her expression held no fear, as she spoke softly: “Do you think you can escape?”
In the next instant, brilliant crimson-gold flames erupted behind her. Space distorted dramatically, and a fiery silhouette tore through reality itself, forming the terrifying phantom of a Vermilion Bird.
The phantom had a wingspan ten zhang wide, every feather formed of flames blazing intensely. Its tail feathers swayed gracefully, raining down golden fire that exploded into towering pillars of flames. Murong Xiao Ya’s figure suddenly vanished from sight. The Vermilion Bird phantom plunged down swiftly, waves of heat and sound surging forth, transforming exposed earth instantly into sparkling, molten glass.
The elderly servant’s eyes widened abruptly. To his horror, the hand he had just raised slowly burned to ashes before his very eyes.