Chapter 768 - Shocking News
Chapter 768: Shocking News
Every now and then, the ice floating in the meander of the river would crash into the bank and leave marks of varying depths. There was a dark yellow tent that towered over this section of the river. The soil and the river in this area emanated a dark bloody glow as if they were formed out of bloody sediment that piled on over the years.
Ever since the followers of the Ashura Temple began living in the “Yellow Tent”, the place started reeking of blood and killing intent. The grassland experts were all unwilling to approach them, resulting in the vast empty space around their tent.
Meng Qi had a brocade draped over his shoulders and a wooden hairpin fastening his hair. In his eyes contained a touch of the vicissitudes of life and a sophisticated maturity but his pale face harbored a hint of madness. It was as if he would go insane at any time. With his hands clasped behind him, he slowly walked toward the Yellow Tent.
“Right this way, sir.” The two disciples of the Ashura Temple who had only their Apertures enlightened felt a tremor down their Vital Spirits the moment their eyes landed on Meng Qi. As if it was Prime Asura Meng Nan paying a visit, they immediately allowed Meng Qi in without stopping or reporting his arrival.
Meng Qi extended his left hand to lift the entrance flap of the tent. Before he could, however, he smiled peacefully and said, “Sha Ma, your disciples are still too inexperienced.”
“No matter how experienced they are, they will surely still be afraid of the Devil of Malice,” replied a muffled voice that sounded like the beating of drums. The speaker occupied the seat of honor. He had a high nose and wide blue eyes under mid-parted hair. He looked like a stereotypical man from the West Regions, with facial features so sculpted that they looked like they were carved with a knife. His hands were twice the size of ordinary human hands and looked capable of squashing a skull with his grip alone. His entire being emanated a killing aura. It was none other than Asura King, who cultivated the Luo Hou Form, Sha Mahuo. People tend to call him Luo Hou.
There were two disciples standing behind Luo Hou, both in their early twenties. One was tall and lanky with sharp facial features. His eyes harbored a bloodthirsty cruelty. The other was more than two meters tall with large, bulging muscles. He had a black fur brocade that resembled a cassock draped over his shoulders. He looked irritable as if he would fly into a rage at any time. Meng Qi recognized him to be Lou Jia, the Ashura Temple disciple who cultivated “Fury Form”. It had been several years but Lou Jia, whose cultivation had been higher than Meng Qi’s back then, had yet to cross the first step of the Celestial Ladder.
There was still another person inside the tent. It was an elderly man that wore a blood-red robe. His head was full of strange and coarse white hair that looked like thin serpents.
“You’re here too, Venerable of Vermins?” Meng Qi smiled subtly, acting as if he had returned to his own lounge. He picked a seat without putting much thought into it, doing so in a carefree manner.
The elderly man was Venerable of Vermins, the one whom the Blood Sea Rakshasa Sect sent.
“If you can come, why can’t I?” Venerable of Vermins snorted. Being an elderly man who enjoyed a great seniority, he detested pretentious youngsters like Devil of Malice.
There were two disciples from his sect standing behind him as well. Both were men dressed in maroon robes. Hidden in their eyes were traces of derangement. Besides their fear of strong men, they bore no other human emotions. One had blood vessels so thick that they were visible on the skin while the other had a row of infant skulls hanging around his waist.
Luo Hou did not introduce the two disciples behind him as he had no need to. Everyone present was a grandmaster. They rarely, if ever, paid any attention to Exterior expert who had not even crossed the first step of the Celestial Ladder. He rapped the table in front of him with his massive hand and said in a low voice, “Devil of Malice, a classic saying from the Central Plains goes that ‘one doesn’t visit a temple without a cause’. The folks from our grassland have a similar saying from then Central Plains that goes ‘better fight an honest man than drink with a cunning man’. Say what you have to say.”
“Do you think I’d just say just because you told me too? That will just mar my reputation as a grandmaster!” Meng Qi calmly overturned the bronze goblet that was about to reach his mouth. He took out his wine sack and filled the goblet with his own wine. With his eyes partially closed, he drank it without tasting the flavor. His nose twitched as he savored the fragrance of the wine.
Meng Qi then lifted his head to look at Luo Hou and pointed at the tall and lanky disciple. “Is this your personal disciple?”
In his current realm, he could make a rough estimation of one’s Dharma Form through perceiving one’s blood lineage inclination, abnormality in Aperture acupoints, and characteristics. Evidently, the tall and lanky disciple was cultivating the “Luo Hou Form”.
“Yes. He has recently entered the Exterior realm,” Luo Hou replied somewhat impatiently.
This was the weakness in the skills of the Ashura Temple. They result in rage, impatience, thirst for blood, and desire for battle. The capability of the user to rein or trigger these emotions would determine their accomplishment.
“So it’s Luo Hou Junior who was once in the top three of the Ranking List of Young Masters…” Meng Qi said. Once again, he refused to go straight to the point.
Luo Hou Junior’s expression did not change but his back was now a little straighter to display a trace of arrogance. Next to him, Lou Jia looked even more irritated.
The two disciples standing behind Venerable of Vermins turned to look at Luo Hou. They looked as though they were trying to compare him with Devil of Malice.
“There have been countless people who once occupied the top three spots of the Ranking List of Young Masters. What’s the point of bringing this up?” Luo Hou replied plainly. “Devil of Malice, did you come here because of the previous battle?”
“Oh? You’re here for this matter as well, Venerable of Vermins?” Instead of replying Luo Hou’s question, Meng Qi turned to look at Venerable of Vermins with a faint smile.
“Can’t I?” Venerable of Vermins retorted coldly.
Luo Hou looked increasingly impatient. He found Devil of Malice’s manner of speaking was akin to punching a bag of cotton—the latter would never get straight to the point no matter how much he spoke. It made him very uncomfortable.
In a flash, Meng Qi managed to manipulate the emotions of everyone in the tent until they were “within his grasp”. He took the chance to trigger the Yuan-xin Seal.
Only now did he honestly reply, “Of course you can. I’m here to ask you both what you feel about it. You being here saves me the effort of paying the Green Tent a visit.”
“What feelings can there be? Since the Great Khan has forced Lu Da and Chong He to retreat, whatever feelings are inconsequential.” Venerable of Vermin frowned so deeply that all of his wrinkles revealed themselves on his face. His grimace was utterly malevolent.
Luo Hou replied with a question of his own, asking, “Devil of Malice, what do you feel about it?”
“Without us being unaware of it, Master Lu and Chong He have crossed the breakthrough point and become Earth Immortals. It’d be unlikely that the Great Khan would be able to flatten the Central Plains. But if we work together, we’re good enough to contend with Kong Wen, He Qi, and the others. It’s clear who the victor is, so there’s no need to worry.” Meng Qi put on a show of great confidence. “When that happens, we’ll crush every family and sect and topple every power. We’ll rewrite the power balance of the world. We need only to follow the Great Khan to gain unbelievable benefits.”
His words seemed innocuous but left Xiao Luo Hou and Lou Jia frowning by the end of it. “We need only to follow the Great Khan?”
Suddenly, the sound of the clock ringing drifted in from outside the tent. The sound of sutras chanting ensued, lingering in the air like a divine aura. The entrance flap of the tent was lifted open, revealing a pair of white boots that seemed unsullied by worldly affairs and a delicate and beautiful face that was both overjoyed and annoyed. The woman carrying an otherworldly elegance wore a faint smile. It was as if there were illusory white lotuses raining down around her. In her divine pureness was a hint of intellect.
Behind her was an elderly woman who looked so thin and malnourished. However, she exuded a boundless breath. In her hand was a little bluish white lamp. The bean-sized flame was completely still, its weak glow spilling on the woman’s white dress. It lent her a nun-like comforting and motherly elegance.
She drew all of the attention of Xiao Luo Hou, Lou Jia, and disciples of the Blood-robed Cult. They felt as if they had come across the lofty fairy of their dreams after leaving the bloody seas.
“Gu Xiaosang!” Meng Qi’s heart jolted before swiftly returning to its normal state. He had been unlucky enough to meet acquaintances in a row after assuming Devil of Malice’s identity. “Isn’t this Gu Xiaosang?”
Gu Xiaosang smiled faintly as she walked in with an elegance manner befitting of a lotus flower and took a look at those inside the tent. “Please forgive me for visiting this late at night, Asura King.”
She busied herself with finding a seat as she spoke. Unexpectedly, the eyes of Luo Hou Junior and the rest followed her as if they could not help it.
“Is this the incomparably beautiful Goddess of Big Luo?”
“The rumors are true! Seeing is indeed believing!”
Not even Venerable of Vermins and Luo Hou could help themselves from taking a second glance at her, though that was only until Lampholder Oracle’s apathetic gaze landed on them.
Meng Qi took in how Lampholder Oracle, ranked 60th on the Terrestrial Rankings, deferentially stood next to Gu Xiaosang without sitting down, how Venerable of Vermins and Luo Hou appeared somewhat tempted yet wary, as well as how Luo Hou Junior, Lou Jia, and the rest looked admiringly and lustfully at her. It was a strange and wondrous feeling for him, as if he had never truly looked closely at Gu Xiaosang.
“Is this how high her position in the Luo Denomination is? Enough that a grandmaster wouldn’t even complain after being kept standing?”
“Her current show of purity and elegance is very different from the cheekiness and temperamental side that she shows me. Which is the true Gu Xiaosang?”
“Speaking of it, I have really never seen how she act or present herself in front of other people…”
Gu Xiaosang smiled at Luo Hou. “Seniors, are you discussing the battle earlier?”
“Yes. We are inevitably nervous after seeing that Master Lu and Chong He had become Earth Immortals,” Meng Qi replied, taking the initiative to speak. He wanted to see if he could glean some important information out of her.
Gu Xiaosang’s smile remained unchanging. “It’s surprising, indeed. But there are many things that can be undone. Won’t you agree, seniors?”
Both Luo Hou and Meng Qi frowned, not grasping her meaning. Venerable of Vermins was the only experiencing emotional turbulence that swiftly quelled. He laughed hoarsely, replying, “Of course. The Great Khan has fully demonstrated his strength. The Blood-robed Cult will certainly aid him in winning the world.”
“Huh? You’re making a promise before Blood Sea Rakshasa even agrees? Or has your sect already made up its mind in the first place?” Doubt immediately rose in Meng Qi.
Gu Xiaosang’s limpid gaze flitted across the room before saying, “Gao Lan has been harboring wild ambitions after becoming a Dharmakaya master. Earlier, he tried to convince the Great Khan to go down south so they can work together to kill either Master Lu or Chong He. Then, he would betray the Great Khan and work together with the other banished Great Khan. This is his way of balancing the powers of the aristocratic families and sects. However, with three of the orthodox masters breaking through one after another, his plan has fallen.”
The information she had just revealed was so earth-shattering that Luo Hou and Venerable of Vermin were dumbfounded. In unison, they asked:
“Gao Lan has defected to the grassland?”
One of them was overjoyed, while the other was nervous.
“This damned woman’s words can’t be trusted. She feels no guilt for swindling others. Look, she’s not even mentioning a word about the Sword of the Human Sovereign…” Meng Qi quietly cursed as he looked at Gu Xiaosang’s pure and fair face.
“Isn’t she at all worried about leaking secrets to reveal such an information so openly?”
“It’s impossible for him to stop halfway now.” Gu Xiaosang’s smile faded a little. “Back then, he roped in many masters to form an alliance with the grassland so as to demonstrate his sincerity. The Cao family from Peijing is one such example. The family has thrown him aside and surrendering themselves to the Great Khan after witnessing his might. That’s the Cao family’s way of showing their allegiance.”
She took out a severed head with long, scattered hair and a handsome face. The eyes were wide open with a look of disbelief. Blood still flowed from the severed head, dripping down Gu Xiaosang’s hand.
“Cao Xianzhi? ‘Lord of Purity and Magic’ Cao Xianzhi!” Meng Qi’s heart abruptly shrunk. He nearly lost control of his emotions.
“Cao Xianzhi is dead?”
“Cao Xianzhi, a grandmaster who possesses the Eight Nine Mysteries technique, is dead?”
“Considering the danger detection ability of the Eight Nine Mysteries technique, he ought to have noticed no matter how close his assassin got!”
“Considering the unyielding might of the Eight Nine Mysteries, he ought to have the chance to escape even if several grandmasters attacked him at the same time or a Divine Weapon was used!”
Gu Xiaosang’s delicately fair face gleamed like it was carved out of jade. Her smile was nearly gone now as she held a malevolent-looking severed head who died with grievances. The skull lent her a rather bewitching charm.
The jade-like beauty who discussed an assassination like it was a joke—Gu Xiaosang was undoubtedly a demoness.