Chapter 1995 - Retaliate

The three descended the mountain in silence.

Yun Zhong's announcement that morning had given the visitors free rein to explore the manor throughout the afternoon. Many had since gathered beside a lake near the corridor, reluctant to move on.

"We would have obtained the Cloud Mist Pearls by now if not for that brat. This is all Liu Wuxie's fault!" a young cultivator said angrily.

Across the grounds, the visitors clustered in groups of three to five.

They had come so close to forcing Yun Zhong to lower the defensive barrier. They could've rushed into the sky and snatched the pearls. No defense could've held back so many people at once, even if Yun Zhong himself had tried to stop them.

"He doesn't get to interfere tonight. Better still, we kill him," several others agreed.

Other groups were also planning similar schemes. For days, this had been the burden crushing Yun Zhong. He knew that these guests wished harm on the manor, yet he could not expel them. They had practically made themselves at home.

Eventually, their relentless demands would wear him down, and disaster would follow. Liu Wuxie's apparently casual intervention had given the manor a chance to breathe. That reprieve had earned Yun Zhong's unreserved trust.

With the mountain behind them, Liu Wuxie and the siblings retraced their steps to the corridor.

Distance offered no protection against his powerful mental energy, and he heard the visitors' conversations clearly. The three bypassed the lake and took their places in a small pavilion, where they would wait for darkness.

Beyond the manor, Yun Zhong and the elders had obtained all seven Glazed Trees and planted them according to the pattern of the seven stars, exactly as Liu Wuxie had instructed. They had also slaughtered numerous immortal beasts. The sharp, heavy reek of blood spread through the estate.

Visitors sniffed at the unfamiliar stench, puzzled by its source.

"The Glazed Trees are in place, Manor Lord. At nightfall, we only need to water them with immortal beast blood," an elder reported, dragging himself over on the verge of collapse.

None of the elders understood these strange instructions. Still, they had carried out every order.

"Take a rest. We'll water them together when darkness falls," Yun Zhong replied. Exhaustion weighed on him just as heavily. He lowered himself onto a mound of earth, abandoning all concern for appearances as mud smeared his robes.

The hours slipped away. With the sinking sun, clouds drifting from the west deepened to red, announcing the approach of night.

On a bench, Liu Wuxie sat cross-legged and circulated the Desolate Devouring Art. The Cloud Mist Pearl he had retrieved that morning gradually dissolved on his palm, feeding its energy into his body.

One ordinary pearl could not carry him into the seventh-level Profound Immortal Realm. Its power could, however, greatly enrich the Desolate World.

As that energy spread through his inner world, patches of mist began to gather.

Day and night already visited the Desolate World, as did wind and rain, but mist had never appeared there before. The universe encompassed countless elements, and his world still held only a handful of fundamentals, among them the five elements, lightning, and wind.

Qi Sitong, meanwhile, had departed the manor earlier that afternoon.

When darkness arrived, Yun Zhong stood and issued his command. Gurgling rose from seven directions as great quantities of immortal beast blood filled the prepared pits. The Glazed Trees absorbed it at a startling pace.

Their unusual trunks were transparent, exposing the channels running inside. Blood coursed through those channels, turning the trunks crimson.

"The Asura Star!" Liu Wuxie murmured, snapping his eyes open and looking toward the southwest.

Greed, desire, wrath, resentment, death, and asura had all appeared. Six of the Seven Sirius Stars now occupied the heavens; only slaughter had yet to emerge.

Within the Desolate World, the Bloodthirst Blade stirred in response to the asura force. Asura governed killing. In his previous life, Liu Wuxie had spent ten full years forging the Asura Blade, creating a weapon devoted to slaughter and steeped in powerful asura force.

Leaving the elders to supervise the final preparations, Yun Zhong dragged his exhausted body back into the manor.

Impatience had already gripped the waiting cultivators. Several attempted to force their way onto the training ground, but the manor's deacons barred their entry.

Angry demands rang out. "Get your manor lord out here! What the hell does he think he's doing, inviting us only to leave us waiting?" Disorder would give them exactly the opening they needed to steal the pearls.

"Please wait a little longer. The Manor Lord is on his way," a deacon replied, standing firm. If the crowd gained the training ground and launched into the sky together, almost nothing could stop them.

"We've been waiting for days! Did Manor Lord Yun bring us here on false promises?" came the challenge. Tempers tightened, and angry words gave way to shoving.

The deacons could not match their opponents and soon fell beneath the assault. Most of these visitors were elders from minor clans or rogue cultivators. First-tier sects had shown little interest in the invitation.

For all its value, these first-tier forces could buy a Cloud Mist Pearl King with sufficient resources. Long Ying had brought her brother chiefly to expand his horizons. Liu Wuxie, for his part, had merely arrived at the right time.

"Enough!" Yun Zhong roared, appearing just as the clash threatened to become an outright battle.

Several deacons already bore serious injuries. Concealed attacks had struck them with the deliberate aim of provoking the manor and turning a confrontation into something worse. Murderous intent flashed through Yun Zhong's eyes as he took in their condition.

"We're all right, Manor Lord," the wounded deacons assured him. They knew how precarious the manor's position had become and would not add to his troubles. Better to suffer the injuries in silence than hand these schemers the victory they wanted.

"Go and get some rest," Yun Zhong told them. He forced his anger down with a deep breath. Tonight would decide everything.

"How long do you intend to keep stalling, Manor Lord Yun?" a mocking voice demanded from the crowd, pushing him once more to allow passage through the defensive barrier.

"Forgive the delay," Yun Zhong replied, cupping his fists despite the anger he still held in check. At his order, the entrance opened, and the visitors gained access to the training ground.

He had closed the grounds when the pearls had first begun to disappear. Since then, entry had required his permission.

More than a hundred cultivators poured in and immediately looked up at the sky. Centuries of nurturing had brought many of the Cloud Mist Pearls to maturity. Even a single one would be enough to help them advance a level.

Opening his eyes, Liu Wuxie rose from the bench and set off toward the gathering.

Long Ying and Long Yuanxiong stopped cultivating and followed him. They had heard his discussion with Yun Zhong at noon, and now they were eager to discover whether he could deliver on his promise.

Success would teach them how to counter the Seven Sirius Stars if they ever faced the phenomenon themselves.

"We've completed every preparation, Young Master Liu," Yun Zhong informed him through a private voice transmission, approaching to welcome him.

Liu Wuxie acknowledged him with a nod.

"You've got the nerve to come back, brat? We'd have solved this mystery already if you hadn't gotten in our way this morning!" a Golden Immortal snarled, rushing at him.

The attack came so quickly after Liu Wuxie's arrival that no one had anticipated it.

"Back off!" Long Yuanxiong snapped, driving out his palm and sending the attacker hurtling away.

That afternoon, Long Ying had explained what the Law Enforcement Token represented. Its bearer wielded authority equal to the sect's upper echelons, and every disciple had a duty to protect him. An explicit command was unnecessary. They could not simply watch someone kill him.

Other cultivators pressed closer, surrounding Liu Wuxie. That afternoon, they had agreed to kill him. With Liu Wuxie out of the way, they could force Yun Zhong to lower the barrier.

"Have you forgotten who we are? We're Azure Jade Palace disciples! Touch us and find out what that means!" Long Yuanxiong snapped. He drew his broadsword, unleashing a terrifying sword aura without holding anything back.

Liu Wuxie surveyed the ugly faces surrounding him, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Nothing but their connection to the Azure Jade Palace made these people pause. Had the three been rogue cultivators, the crowd would already have killed them.

"Since you all claim to know what's making the pearls disappear, let's put it to a wager. Stop the losses with your methods, and you can do whatever you like with me. But if you fail, what will you offer?" Liu Wuxie asked with a smile. To him, the surrounding cultivators had become prey.

A gathering of so many experts was certain to hold considerable wealth. He had entered the Celestial Weave Domain only recently and possessed few resources apart from immortal stones. Cultivation devoured enormous quantities of those every day, and each new advancement would only increase the cost.

Yun Zhong had been on the verge of stepping in, but the proposed wager stopped him. Even Long Ying and Long Yuanxiong could not see what Liu Wuxie intended.

Anyone who truly knew him would have recognized his purpose. He did not let a grudge go unanswered, nor did he offer mercy to his enemies. These people wanted his life. What reason did he have to spare theirs?

Their conversation beside the lake had already exposed their intention to eliminate him. He would do better to act first and catch them off guard.

Uncertain glances passed through the surrounding crowd. Not one of them had anticipated this turn of events.

"Lost your nerve? A moment ago, you were all so certain you'd found the cause," Liu Wuxie sneered, deliberately sharpening the provocation.

Numerous Golden Immortals stood among them, along with several Great Golden Immortals. There was even an Immortal King in the crowd, though he had seldom spoken.