The door was pushed open, and Evil Song, You Yue, and Shui Buyu walked in.
Beads of sweat dripped down Evil Song's face. She leaned forward, cupped her hands, and said urgently, "My lord, powerhouses from a Mithril-level faction are besieging the Shui Family! They want to capture the Prophet of the Feather Wood Race, Yu Lingfeng!"
"Xiaolang, hurry and help! The Shui Family is on the brink of destruction!" Shui Buyu roared, his eyes bloodshot.
CRACK!
The table under Shen Lang's right hand let out a soft crack, instantly turning to dust and scattering into the air.
"Who dares!"
A dangerous glint flashed in Shen Lang's eyes as he shot to his feet.
"Get Elder Ape and the other two. We're going to the Shui Family!"
Without asking any more questions, Shen Lang stalked out of the room, his face grim.
The moment he was outside, a pair of black wings unfurled, and Shen Lang shot into the sky.
You Yue and Evil Song, who were behind him, were stunned. Not long ago, outside the Imperial Capital, Shen Lang himself had told them he'd been sealed by a powerhouse.
That was why Nalan Ziyun had been the one to bring them all back by controlling Tears of Paradise.
And earlier, when facing the Third Prince, not a single trace of Spiritual Power had leaked from Shen Lang's body. 'To think that...'
Only a few hours had passed, yet he had already broken the Restriction cast by a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse!
This revelation shook Evil Song and You Yue to their core once more.
'I thought that after spending some time with Shen Lang, I'd have a better grasp of his true strength and secrets.'
'But the more I'm around him, the more mysterious and unfathomable he becomes...'
Hearing the summons, Yuan Bupu and his two companions, who had been drinking merrily with Second Elder Feng Buping, didn't hesitate. They gave Feng Buping and the others a quick salute, then all shot into the sky in pursuit.
Zu Wei and Nanfeng Yao looked at each other. "What's going on? What happened? This feels even more serious than before."
Just then, a member of War Wolf said in a low voice, "People from the Mithril-level sect, Celestial Sword Mountain, have appeared in the Imperial Capital. It's unclear how they learned that the Prophet of the Feather Wood Race, Yu Lingfeng, is with the Shui Family, so they're openly besieging them and demanding they hand her over."
Feng Buping was taken aback. "The Feather Wood Race may be a plant race, but the world is very open now. The Human Race's territories have integrated many other races. For them to act so brazenly... something doesn't seem right."
"Her race is just an excuse," Zu Wei said, his expression darkening.
Feng Buping was still in the dark, but Zu Wei guarded the fissure. How could he not know what these people were truly after?
They were after the Eternal Tree!
Back when Shen Lang took out the Eternal Tree in the fissure, he had warned them about this.
The existence of the Eternal Tree could not, under any circumstances, be revealed.
If it were discovered, those on the demonic and evil paths would try to destroy it to allow the Supreme Yin Qi from the fissure to overflow freely.
Meanwhile, those of the Righteous Dao would covet it just as much and would stop at nothing to possess it!
There were endless Exotic Treasures in the world, but one that contained such surging Life Spiritual Power, that could grow continuously... and could even one day give birth to life? Besides the Eternal Tree, there was nothing else like it.
Celestial Sword Mountain was a Mithril-level faction, a higher authority than sects like the Imperial Dragon Sect and the Li Hen Sect. They had come to the Purple Chu Country specifically to deal with sealing the fissure.
The Imperial Dragon Sect naturally wouldn't have hidden the existence of the Eternal Tree from them.
But Zu Wei still felt something was off. The timing was wrong!
The people from Celestial Sword Mountain seemed to have arrived in the Imperial Capital even later than he did. The Elder Ancestors from the Imperial Dragon Sect were still on their way and hadn't arrived yet. 'So who told Celestial Sword Mountain about the Eternal Tree?'
At that moment, Nanfeng Yao seemed to sense Zu Wei's confusion and sent a voice transmission. "Back when I went to get Young Master Lang, he had been struck by Xue Dangdang and was forced into hiding."
"When we were on our way back, Young Master Lang told me the whole story... The reason Xue Dangdang was hunting him was because he had killed Helian Qingshan, the Young Hall Master of the White Bone Hall!"
"And Helian Qingshan and his people from the White Bone Hall had enraged Young Master Lang by attacking some villagers and Yu Lingfeng of the Feather Wood Race, which is why he killed them."
"However... it seems Young Master Lang showed mercy to a female Commander from the White Bone Hall. He only wounded her severely instead of killing her."
Zu Wei's expression changed. "Are you saying... someone from the White Bone Hall told Celestial Sword Mountain about the Eternal Tree? Goddammit!"
Nanfeng Yao continued his transmission. "The people from the White Bone Hall might not have known about the Eternal Tree. When Helian Qingshan and his group were hunting Yu Lingfeng, they only knew she possessed a treasure that could resist the Supreme Yin Qi. They didn't know it was the Eternal Tree."
Zu Wei's expression grew even uglier. "So, the people from Celestial Sword Mountain didn't just brazenly march to the fissure to claim the Eternal Tree. Instead, they're besieging the Shui Family because they think the treasure is still in Yu Lingfeng's possession?"
"Exactly," Nanfeng Yao confirmed with a nod.
"Goddammit! Even at a time like this, those bastards are only thinking of their own interests! Do they think Celestial Sword Mountain is so incredible? No matter how strong they are, can they fight the Ruyi Buddha Sect? No matter how badass they think they are, can they even compare to a single toe of the Xue Family?" Zu Wei cursed.
"Let's go! We need to get to the Shui Family... If anyone from Celestial Sword Mountain dares to touch Young Master Lang, I, Zu Wei, will risk my life to take a few of them down with me!"
Nanfeng Yao wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and nodded. "It's the only way... The Elder Ancestors should be arriving soon. We'll do our best to buy some time!"
After saying this, Nanfeng Yao turned to Feng Buping. "To be on the safe side, your people from the Profound Dao Sect shouldn't come along. We don't want to give Celestial Sword Mountain an excuse to cause trouble for you."
"Don't worry. The Imperial Dragon Sect will give it our all. We will absolutely not allow anyone to harm Young Master Lang."
Feng Buping's expression was grave as he cupped his hands. "Then we'll be counting on both of you!"
Zu Wei and Nanfeng Yao nodded, and with a flicker, they vanished from the spot.
The Elder Ancestors from the nearby Evil Wind Valley and Xiu Hua Sect immediately gathered around.
"Elder Feng, are we really just going to wait here?"
Gong Lanyan, the Elder Ancestor of the Xiu Hua Sect, asked with some hesitation.
Feng Buping sighed. "Xiaolang didn't call on us, and that implies a few things. First, even if we went, we might not be of any real help. Second, we're up against a Mithril-level faction. If this isn't handled properly, all of our sects could be in danger."
"In this situation, the safest course of action is for us to lie low and let the Imperial Dragon Sect take the lead."
"Furthermore, the seniors from the Imperial Dragon Sect, Li Hen Sect, and Flower Sect were already on their way during the earlier commotion. By my calculations, they should be arriving any moment now."
"Master of Chaos from the Ruyi Buddha Sect is likely with them... With the help of several Emperor Martial Realm powerhouses, there shouldn't be any major issues."
"So, for now, we'll just have to wait here patiently..."
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and sat back down.
Meanwhile, Evil Song and Shui Buyu explained the full story to Shen Lang.
Shen Lang's expression grew even darker.
"The Mithril-level faction, Celestial Sword Mountain? How impressive! They dare to try and steal from me!"
"The Feather Wood Race has done so much for this world, and those fucking mutts still want to give them trouble?"
"They want to start something? Then I'll give them a war that will shake the heavens!"
With that, Shen Lang waved his hand. "Elder Ape, you three take the others and go on ahead. Anyone who dares to touch the Shui Family, anyone who dares to touch Yu Lingfeng—kill them!"
Yuan Bupu and Yin Qianshang responded in unison, "Kill!"
Flower Soul merely gave a respectful nod without a word. With a wave of her fair hand, a cloud of energy enveloped Evil Song and the others, carrying them away as a streak of light that vanished into the distance.
The moment they were gone, Shen Lang's form flickered, and he entered the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.
Inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, Zombie Emperor Duanmu Xie seemed to have sensed Zuo Wentian's presence and had completely given up all resistance.
He stood stock-still inside, as docile as a statue.
The Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads hung above his head, releasing a myriad of Buddha Lights that wore down and suppressed the once-arrogant Zombie Emperor.
Seeing Shen Lang enter, the listless expression on Duanmu Xie's face instantly changed, replaced by a fawning smile.
But a zombie was a zombie. If a zombie could manage a pleasant smile, hell would have frozen over.
It would have been better if he hadn't smiled. His attempt at a grin was uglier than a crying fit, enough to startle someone awake from a nightmare.
But he had no choice but to smile...
He was simply scared out of his wits.
Earlier, Zuo Wentian had lashed out in anger, severing all the Evil Eye Lord's innumerable tentacles.
That single saber strike had scared Duanmu Xie, who had been watching from the sidelines, half to death!
Anyone else might only have sensed the sheer, domineering power of Zuo Wentian's attack.
But Duanmu Xie was different.
He had personally watched his own leader get cleaved in two by Zuo Wentian's saber!
How could he possibly forget Zuo Wentian's world-cleaving saber strike from all those years ago, even after sleeping for ten thousand years?
It was because of that strike that he, Duanmu Xie, was hunted until he had nowhere left to run and no place to hide. He had finally taken refuge in the Hidden Moon Tomb, only to end up in his current predicament.
If there was anyone in the world Duanmu Xie feared, it was, without a doubt, Zuo Wentian.
And as for Zuo Wentian's unparalleled strike from before, while its Sword Qi and power were a far cry from that attack all those years ago, the peerless and invincible Sword Intent, that domineering, brutal, and relentless spirit—Duanmu Xie had felt it all with perfect clarity!
Ultimately, Duanmu Xie was certain of one thing...
Even if the person who had severed the Evil Eye Lord's tentacles wasn't Zuo Wentian himself, he had to be one of the foremost powerhouses of the Celestial Purity Sect!
The kind who had received Zuo Wentian's true teachings, no less!
With someone like that standing guard within this cauldron, forget the fact that he was currently sealed and suppressed by the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads...
Even without all that, even if he, Duanmu Xie, were at his peak, he'd still have to be as meek as a lamb.
His fear of Zuo Wentian and the Celestial Purity Sect was bone-deep.
He certainly wouldn't be like that headless zombie from underground, who started bellowing the moment it woke up, "Celestial Purity Sect, your doom is at hand! I have awakened!"
...
While Duanmu Xie was lost in thought, Shen Lang had already walked over.
"How about a deal?" Shen Lang asked coolly.
"Deal!" Duanmu Xie was thrilled. 'I was just waiting for you to ask!' he thought. 'Damn, I've been waiting for days! I was about to grow moss waiting for you to show up.'
A faint smile played on Shen Lang's lips. "Submit to me, or face Soul Scattering."
Duanmu Xie wanted to cry.
'Damn it, how is this a deal?'
'This is just a blatant, tactless threat! And so direct, too! Don't my feelings count for anything?'
'You didn't even give me a chance to prepare myself!'
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