Everlasting Immortal Firmament

Book 5: Chapter 27: Ao Shun’s Change

Whoosh!

When Ao Shun arrived, a strong wind instantly swept through Elite Hall’s plaza.

An azure-clad Ao Shun stood in the sky above Elite Hall. A vast aura burst out, causing the expression of everyone around the plaza to change.

Gu Hai’s expression turned serious as he raised his head to look.

This aura?

Gu Hai felt sure that this aura belonged to an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator.

Isn’t Crown Prince Ao Shun just a Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator? This is…

“His sin mark is gone?” Mu Chenfeng’s expression suddenly changed.

Indeed, Ao Shun’s forehead no longer bore the sin mark.

At this moment, Ao Shun appeared to possess overwhelming might as his long hair swept down behind his back.

——

At the distant Dragon Star Palace’s entrance:

“He has arrived! Crown Prince, Ao Shun has arrived!” a subordinate said respectfully to Ao Sheng.

Ao Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly as he said, “His sin mark? Humph! Royal Father is quite partial!”

In a corridor elsewhere, the dragon race elders felt excited.

“Ao Shun’s cultivation has been restored after regaining his divine connection. He is now that undefeatable Crown Prince Ao Shun of the past again!” Elder Gen chortled.

“I knew it! I just knew that Prime would not punish Crown Prince Ao Shun forever!” Elder Lin said excitedly.

“Now that Crown Prince Ao Shun’s sin mark is gone and he has recovered his cultivation, Gu Hai is in trouble this time.”

“Indeed. He suffered humiliation at Gu Hai’s hand on Nine-Five Island. Now that he has returned, how could he spare Gu Hai? Back then, Crown Prince Ao Shun even dared to attack the Qian Nation’s crown princes. Why would he care about a mere Elite Hall Master?”

The elders marveled at Ao Shun.

Although Crown Prince Ao Sheng showed a sullen expression, he did not show any pity as he looked at Gu Hai, only letting out a cold snort.

——

At a distant restaurant, Li Shenji narrowed his eyes.

“That ever-victorious Ao Shun is back?” Li Shenji showed a faint, cold smile.

The stronger Ao Shun was, the more Gu Hai could not resist.

Gu Hai, you might be incredible, able to execute angels, blast the city lord with the Heaven Blasting Cannon, and go against dragons. However, this is Crown Prince Ao Shun. Even the Heaven Blasting Cannon is useless against him.

It is time to pay for the humiliation that Ao Shun suffered. No one can save you now.

As the Heavenly Chen City Lord looked at Ao Shun, his eyes lit up.

On the other hand, Yehua initially looked at Ao Shun’s forehead in shock. The sin mark is gone. Judging by the earlier aura, he has already reached the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, right?

However, Yehua felt delight after the shock. Gu Hai is dead for sure this time.

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, you are back!”

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, did Prime remove your sin mark? This is great! This is great!”

“This Gu Hai used a trick to harm Little Lin. We are about to attack together.”

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, you can vent your anger on him now. It is time to take revenge on him for imprisoning you on Nine-Five Island!”

The dragons’ excited clamor allowed the surrounding citizens to understand everything. Gu Hai? He imprisoned Crown Prince Ao Shun in the past? Is that true?

Previously, the citizens did not know much about Gu Hai. Now, they looked at Gu Hai like he was a monster. No wonder the dragons hate Gu Hai so much. Is this Elite Hall Master pitting himself against the world?

He killed six-winged angels, blasted the city lord, fought dragons alone, and even imprisoned Crown Prince Ao Shun. Where did he come from?

The citizens took in this scene in shock.

The Elite Hall disciples appeared flustered. Some of them even had cold sweat beading their foreheads. Mu Chenfeng seemed anxious, but he did not move the Heaven Blasting Cannon away from Yehua.

Gu Hai looked up and coldly eyed Ao Shun in the sky.

Ao Shun arrived with anger on his face and coldly surveyed the surroundings.

“Crown Prince, we’ll help you kill Gu Hai!” a dragon called out.

“Stop!” Ao Shun roared furiously again.

“Huh?” That dragon felt slightly startled.

All the dragons felt stunned. The distant Ao Sheng, the dragon race elders, Li Shenji, Yehua, and citizens appeared confused.

What do you mean?

When Ao Shun shouted “stop” the first time, it was not to Gu Hai but the dragons?

Whoosh!

Ao Shun’s figure flashed, appearing on the plaza before Gu Hai. Then, he turned his head to look at Lin Shizi, who had somewhat come to his senses from the horror he experienced. Li Shizi was still breathing deeply. Then, Ao Shun turned his head and looked at Gu Hai.

Gu Hai looked back at Ao Shun coldly.

Suddenly, Ao Shun’s stern expression turned into a faint, bitter smile.

“Many thanks to Hall Master Gu for showing mercy.” Ao Shun suddenly bowed to Gu Hai.

The surroundings fell silent. Crown Prince Ao Shun is bowing to Gu Hai? Hasn’t he already recovered his cultivation?

Why is he bowing to Gu Hai, who had imprisoned him?

“Crown Prince, why are you—” the dragons exclaimed.

“Shut your mouths!” Ao Shun said coldly.

“Huh?!” The dragons felt startled.

Now, Lin Shizi had thoroughly awoken from the horrifying illusions. He trembled on the ground, covered in a cold sweat. Then, he opened his eyes and saw Gu Hai.

“Gu Hai, how dare you scare me?! Roar!” Lin Shizi roared and charged at Gu Hai again.

Bang!

Before Lin Shizi reached Gu Hai, Ao Shun sent Lin Shizi flying back with a palm strike.

“Argh!” Lin Shizi let out a startled cry but did not suffer any significant injuries.

When he turned his head and saw who attacked him, he immediately felt shocked and exclaimed, “Crown Prince, why did you attack me?!”

Ao Shun looked at Lin Shizi coldly and said, “Why did I attack you? Humph! If not for Hall Master Gu showing mercy earlier, you would already be a dead dragon!”

“What? That’s impossible!” Lin Shizi protested in disbelief.

Ao Shun suddenly glared, causing Lin Shizi to shrink back, no longer daring to argue.

Then, Ao Shun turned to Gu Hai. “Hall Master Gu, this is a childhood friend of mine. He is ignorant, so please do forgive him. Truly, many thanks for showing mercy earlier.”

Gu Hai stared at Ao Shun for a while. He could see the sincerity in Ao Shun’s eyes, so he nodded and said, “Let’s leave it. I never planned to start a massacre anyway. After all, if I killed this group of younger-generation dragons, there would still be a group of elders waiting at Dragon Star Palace, right?”

Gu Hai smiled faintly as he looked in Dragon Star Palace’s direction.

Far away, the faces of Ao Sheng and the elders sank.

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, are you just going to ignore being imprisoned by Gu Hai and the thousands of dragons that Gu Hai killed? Your dragon race has no spine! Your enemy is here, but you don’t dare to attack him?!” Yehua tried to agitate Ao Shun.

Ao Shun turned his head and looked at Yehua. Then, he sneered, “Yehua? This is my dragon race’s matter. It is not the place of an outsider to interfere, right?!”

“Huh?” Yehua’s face sank.

“I don’t care what grudge you have against Hall Master Gu. However, if you try to incite my dragon race to oppose Gu Hai, then don’t blame me for being ruthless. I don’t care whether you are the Supreme Genesis’s son or not; I will immediately kill you if you anger me. Do you believe that?!” Ao Shun looked at Yehua coldly.

“Do you dare to?!” Yehua countered, glaring back.

“Humph! If I kill you, my father will deal with the Supreme Genesis. At worst, I will just go back to being a sin dragon. You can try it.” Ao Shun’s tone contained a murderous intent.

Not far away, Li Shenji narrowed his eyes. “That fearless Ao Shun is back.”

Ao Shun coldly eyed Yehua. The dragons now showed hostile expressions as they faced Yehua and the remaining angels.

Yehua stared at Ao Shun, wanting to talk back. However, Ao Shun’s murderous gaze made Yehua’s chest tighten. While others might not know Ao Shun well, he was well aware of Ao Shun’s past. Ao Shun’s unyielding character was indeed capable of that. He would only lose out if he fought Ao Shun.

Yehua flung out his sleeves and snorted coldly, “Humph!”

“Also, any place with the dragon race does not welcome you. If you have nothing else, immediately leave Heavenly Chen City,” Ao Shun said with a cold glare.

Yehua showed a frosty expression as he stared at Ao Shun for a while.

“Let’s go!”

After a furious shout, Yehua left with his angels.

After Yehua left, Ao Shun turned to look towards the distant Dragon Star Palace at Ao Sheng, in Dragon Star Palace’s plaza, and frowned slightly. His gaze seemed critical, as though blaming Ao Sheng for letting the dragons mess around despite being the crown prince.

Of course, Ao Sheng was the dragon race’s crown prince, so Ao Shun did not say anything out loud.

Even so, Ao Shun’s reproachful gaze made the distant Ao Sheng’s face sink.

“Humph!” Ao Sheng snorted softly, but he felt extremely upset in his heart.

Then, Ao Shun turned to the nearby Heavenly Chen City Lord, who was in a sorry state.

“Heavenly Chen City Lord, what happened to you?” Ao Shun frowned as he looked at the Heavenly Chen City Lord.

“Crown Prince, earlier…” Lin Shizi took on human form and explained everything that happened.

“Heavenly Chen City Lord, although I—Ao Shun—have been relegated to an ordinary dragon and do not have as much authority as you do, I still have a few words for you. Back when you became the Heavenly Chen City Lord, someone told me that you were incapable and only became the city lord due to the support from the Qian Nation’s second crown prince. However, I did not expect you to make such a mistake. Elite Hall is a Qian Nation foreign affairs department. Furthermore, His Holy Eminence personally confers its master a marquis. No matter who the Hall Master is, they would be a marquis. A marquis has the right to deal with intruders in their homes as they please. Who gave you the courage to barge into Elite Hall?” Ao Shun said with a frown.

“Huh?” The Heavenly Chen City Lord’s expression turned stiff.

“All who break my Qian Nation’s laws have to be punished, no matter how far away they are or how strong. Those angels were only getting what they deserved. What is wrong with Hall Master Gu killing them? Yet, you tried to help outsiders to get away with breaking the Qian Nation’s laws?” Ao Shun said seriously.

“Ah? I did not! I did not! I only…” the Heavenly Chen City Lord immediately called out, his expression changing.

“Hall Master Gu just did not pursue the matter. Had he killed you earlier, he would still be blameless before His Holy Eminence. Do you know that?” Ao Shun said.

The Heavenly Chen City Lord’s expression changed again.

“Alright. Who are these soldiers guarding against now? There’s no need to gather here any longer. Just leave,” Ao Shun said.

“Yes!” the Heavenly Chen City Lord said with a bitter smile.

Although he was the lord of one of the heavenly court’s thirty-three cities, there were too many people with higher statuses than him. Take Ao Shun, for example. Although he was no longer the crown prince, he was still the first son of the dragon race’s prime. Furthermore, many dragons here considered him their leader. He could not go against the dragons’ will.

The Heavenly Chen City Lord could only leave quickly with the city guards.

Now, the Elite Hall disciples were no longer afraid. Their gazes on Ao Shun also warmed significantly.

The surrounding citizens looked at Ao Shun in shock. How did it end up like this? Was what the dragons said false? How could Ao Shun have been humiliated from his imprisonment? This Ao Shun is clearly protecting Gu Hai!

“How could it be like this?” The distant Li Shenji’s expression changed, now showing rage.

——

At Dragon Star Palace’s entrance:

Ao Sheng’s expression turned sullen as he looked at Ao Shun.

“Humph!”

Ao Sheng flung out his sleeves and walked back into Dragon Star Palace.

——

After dealing with everything, Ao Shun looked at Gu Hai.

“Mister Gu, how have you been?” Ao Shun smiled.

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, how awe-inspiring!” Gu Hai said with a smile.

“Mister Gu is too polite. Compared to Mister Gu, this humble one is just a rash fool.” Ao Shun shook his head.

The previously imposing dragons felt conflicted. This…why did it turn out like this?

“Crown Prince Ao Shun, please, come in,” Gu Hai said with a smile.

Suddenly, Ao Shun raised his eyebrows. “I just remembered. I have something to tell you.”

“Oh?” Gu Hai said, feeling curious.

“I saw Ensnaring Performance in Heavenly Mao City,” Ao Shun said with a frown.

“Ensnaring Performance?” Gu Hai parroted in shock.

“It should be him, your heaven-grade zither, the one that sings very…erm… Him. He was in Heavenly Mao City and seemed to be in a conflict with a group of baldies. I was going to stop them earlier when I heard about this. Fearing something would happen, I immediately returned,” Ao Shun said with a frown.

“Conflicts? Baldies? Do you mean monks?” Gu Hai asked.

“That’s right. It should be the Spirit Mountain Holy Land envoys. I think there was a bodhisattva among them.” Ao Shun nodded.

“The west’s Spirit Mountain Holy Land?” Gu Hai’s face sank.