Chapter 399 - 212: Throwing Your Weight Around? Courting Death

Chapter 399: Chapter 212: Throwing Your Weight Around? Courting Death

Granny Wuhua’s indifferent gaze swept over the vermilion gates and high walls of the Jingwu Bureau below. She gave the Black Wood Walking Stick in her hand a light tap.

HUMMM—

An immense, overwhelming pressure suddenly descended, sweeping out in all directions like an invisible tide to completely envelop the Jingwu Bureau.

In an instant, figures throughout the Jingwu Bureau shot into action, the sound of them cutting through the air echoing one after another.

The many experts of the Jingwu Bureau leaped onto rooftops and sped into the courtyards, their gazes fixed on the behemoth in the sky. Every face paled, their breath catching in their throats.

Lu Xuanzhou stood at the front edge of the eagle’s back, his gaze locked onto the row of severed heads hanging before the main gate of the Jingwu Bureau.

When he clearly saw the face on the head at the very front of the row, his pupils contracted. His eyes instantly became bloodshot, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and cracked.

That was his father, Lu Canghai.

Next to it, in order, were the heads of his cousin Lu Maozhi, two Mystic Realm elders, and numerous other elders from the main branch of the Lu Family!

"Chen Sheng—get the hell out here!!"

Lu Xuanzhou could no longer restrain himself. He unleashed a gut-wrenching roar with every ounce of his strength, the sound waves rolling out and shaking the surrounding roof tiles until they rattled.

The giant eagle’s intrusion into the skies above Ning’an Prefecture City had already alarmed the entire populace.

By now, the streets and alleys outside the Jingwu Bureau were packed with a dark mass of people, all craning their necks to look up. The sound of their whispers surged like a tide.

"Insolence! This is the headquarters of the Jingwu Bureau! How dare you trespass? Are you trying to stage a rebellion?!"

A sharp cry rose into the sky from within the Jingwu Bureau.

Clad in a black official’s robe, Sun Yuzhi soared upward to stand unsupported in midair. Her beautiful eyes, glinting with killing intent, immediately locked onto the old woman on the eagle’s back as she felt the woman’s terrifying pressure.

Her heart sank.

’A Pill Realm Grandmaster!’

"You lot from the Jingwu Bureau call yourselves the court’s enforcers, yet you slaughter and harm the innocent at will! Today, I, Lu Xuanzhou, will demand justice for the thousand-plus wronged souls of my Luoyun Manor!"

With Granny Wuhua backing him, Lu Xuanzhou showed not a shred of fear as he faced Sun Yuzhi, the infamous "Female Demon." Instead, he pointed an accusing finger and cursed at her, every word dripping with anguish.

Granny Wuhua’s indifferent gaze slowly shifted to Sun Yuzhi. The pressure emanating from her body didn’t recede in the slightest; instead, it intensified, bearing down on the other woman like a lofty mountain range.

Sun Yuzhi’s face paled, and her figure wavered slightly in the air, her expression turning exceptionally grave.

"I am Wuhua of the Vast Sea Sect, and I have come today to demand an explanation on behalf of Luoyun Manor. Are you the Governor of the Ning’an Jingwu Bureau?"

Just as Sun Yuzhi was about to speak, a figure appeared silently beside her.

Nie Xuanfeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked up at the old woman, a faint smile gracing his lips.

"Granny Wuhua, to arrive with such a grand display... are you, perhaps, planning to make a move against my Jingwu Bureau?"

"Someone from the Nie Family."

Granny Wuhua’s eyes narrowed.

"Indeed." ℯℯ𝑙.

Nie Xuanfeng seemed to have backing he could rely on. Even when directly facing the pressure of a Pill Realm Grandmaster, he showed no intention of retreating, appearing utterly composed.

"The Jingwu Bureau slaughtered everyone in Luoyun Manor without cause. This is against both reason and law. Considering you are a descendant of the Nie Family, I will give the Nie Family some face. Just hand over the perpetrator, Chen Sheng, and let him return with me to the Vast Sea Sect to explain himself."

Granny Wuhua’s tone became milder, but it was laced with a subtle chill.

’Making a direct move against the Jingwu Bureau is out of the question. I can’t be the one to cause a complete break between the Vast Sea Sect and the government. But applying pressure to make them yield is still within acceptable limits. However, since he’s from the Nie Family, I have to show some restraint to avoid endless trouble later on. In that case, all my pent-up anger can only be directed at that junior named Chen Sheng.’

"Luoyun Manor was colluding with the Cyan Flood Dragon Pirates. The evidence is irrefutable. Furthermore, they resisted arrest with force and murdered government officials. By any measure—be it reason, emotion, or law—their crimes warranted annihilation. In my opinion, there is no need for any explanation."

Nie Xuanfeng’s words were clear and forceful:

"If the Vast Sea Sect has any objections, you may file a petition with the State Government Office and open a formal inquiry according to the law."

"Junior, do you think you can disrespect me just because you’re from the Nie Family?"

Nie Xuanfeng’s unyielding words finally infuriated Granny Wuhua.

’I felt I’d given the Nie Family enough face, but he’s utterly shameless!’

With a cold snort, the pressure that had enveloped the area suddenly converged, crashing down on Nie Xuanfeng alone like an invisible mountain!

Nie Xuanfeng raised an eyebrow, and a pale blue Spirit Talisman between his fingers silently burned away.

In the blink of an eye, a rippling blue barrier of light appeared, shielding him completely.

When the Pill Realm pressure descended, the barrier of light merely rippled once before stabilizing.

"This is my final warning. If you do not retreat now, I will consider it a blatant provocation against the dignity of the Jingwu Bureau. And that is a crime for which I fear you... cannot bear the consequences!"

Nie Xuanfeng’s voice turned cold, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

A cold light flared in Granny Wuhua’s eyes, and she slammed down her Black Wood Walking Stick.

"HISS!"

A phantom image of a giant black snake, a thousand feet long, suddenly manifested behind her. It coiled in midair, and as its tongue flickered, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi for a thousand feet in every direction grew violently agitated.

For a moment, the very sky seemed to darken.

"Granny Wuhua, that man... that’s Chen Sheng!"

Just then, Lu Xuanzhou suddenly spoke, his finger jabbing toward a figure within the Jingwu Bureau.

A lone figure was slowly walking out from within the Bureau’s compound.

Chen Sheng was dressed in the black, fifth-rank official robe of the Jingwu Bureau, the hem fluttering in the biting Qi Force.

His face was grim as he ascended through the air step by step, until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Sun Yuzhi and Nie Xuanfeng. Only then did he lift his gaze to calmly look at the group on the eagle’s back.

"Why did you come out?"

Sun Yuzhi turned her head, her brow furrowed as she spoke in a low voice.

"With a commotion this big, it’d be hard not to hear it."

Chen Sheng replied nonchalantly, his gaze never leaving Granny Wuhua.

Nie Xuanfeng glanced at Chen Sheng, his own expression still impassive.

"So you’re Chen Sheng?"

Granny Wuhua’s gaze, as sharp as a hawk’s and as cold as a viper’s, instantly locked onto Chen Sheng.

"I am."

Chen Sheng gave a slight nod.

"You knew full well that Luoyun Manor was affiliated with my Vast Sea Sect, yet you still dared to act so viciously—an open provocation... Truly, the height of arrogance. Today, you will return with me to the Vast Sea Sect and explain yourself."

Granny Wuhua’s voice was menacing.

"And what if I refuse?"

Chen Sheng’s tone remained level.

"That’s not for you to decide!"

Granny Wuhua snarled.

"Do you really think I can’t touch you just because you have the Nie Family for a backer? If you dare to commit the act, you must pay the price!"

Before her voice had even faded, she raised her withered right hand and made a grasping motion through the air.

BOOM!

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gathered frantically, forming a massive, pitch-black palm several hundred feet wide. Its five fingers were like hooks, and with a piercing, air-rending screech, it clawed down at Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng’s expression remained unchanged. With a mere thought, Gang Qi surged around him, and streams of crimson flame burst from thin air, instantly weaving themselves into a sea of chilling fire that protected him at its center.

Sun Yuzhi’s expression tightened as she flashed in front of Chen Sheng, her hand, hidden within her sleeve, already gripping a Purple Patterned Spirit Talisman.

Nie Xuanfeng, however, remained where he was, not moving an inch. Only a faint glimmer of light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

The pitch-black palm was about to descend and snatch Chen Sheng, along with his sea of fire.

Just then.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort, seeming to descend from the Nine Heavens, echoed directly in the hearts of everyone present.

Following that, an even larger hand of Primordial Qi, wreathed in flowing scarlet-gold light, tore through the clouds without warning. Though it appeared later, it arrived first, striking with the force of a thunderbolt.

It ruthlessly slammed into the phantom black snake that Granny Wuhua had conjured.

"BANG—!!!"

A deafening explosion resounded throughout the entire city.

The astonishingly powerful, thousand-foot-long phantom snake shattered inch by inch like glass, dissolving into a sky full of black motes of light before vanishing completely.

Granny Wuhua’s body trembled violently. With a muffled groan, all the color drained from her face, and for the first time, a look of sheer terror appeared in her eyes.

"Who?!"

"Old Devout Woman, you really think you’re someone special? You dare to show off your power in front of my Nie Family!"

A clear, crisp shout—both majestic and biting, yet distinctly female—resounded through the heavens.

The pressure contained within the voice was several times greater than Granny Wuhua’s.

Nie Xuanfeng, who had been standing stern-faced beside Chen Sheng the entire time, now allowed the corners of his lips to curl up in a barely perceptible smile.

As for Chen Sheng, he remained standing calmly in the void, his official robe whipping about in the howling wind.

He gazed at Granny Wuhua, Lu Xuanzhou, and the others on the eagle’s back, their expressions having changed drastically.

Deep in his eyes, a flicker of a smile appeared, as if he had anticipated this scene all along.

———