Chapter 3090 - Barbarian Chen

The atmosphere was stifled and oppressive. All was silent save for Daoist Niu’s voice echoing through the crowd’s ears.

The founders of Three Purities Temple had taken a stance. They wanted everything done in accordance with the rules, and they asked Old Lord Gouchen to take care of things.

Who could have believed such a thing so easily?

“Your Excellency, which... which rules are we supposed to follow?” Old Ghost Meng couldn’t help but ask.

Daoist Niu completely disregarded him and looked at Old Lord Gouchen. “I’ve passed on the founders’ decree, word for word. I’ll leave the rest to you. Farewell.”

With that, he clasped his fist and was just about to leave when...

“Wait.” Old Lord Gouchen said calmly. “Since I’m responsible for resolving this, allow me to make myself clear. I’ll act in accordance with the rules of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones. I won’t give anyone special consideration! When you go back, please inform the three venerable founders.”

Old Daoist Niu gazed intently at him, then nodded. “I will.”

With that, he turned and left. He obviously wasn’t willing to linger here; he’d come in a hurry, and left just as quickly.

Old Ghost Meng and the yellow-robed middle-aged man’s hearts sank. What’s going on with the three founders? Why announce that they’re abandoning their own sectmate? Why would they forsake a grandmaster of their sect if they had any other choice?

But who could possibly have forced them to do this?

The Secluded Ones caught a whiff of something strange in the air. They couldn’t help but feel bewildered. Just who did the Big Boss’s heart devil ask to intervene? Who could have forced the three founders to make such a concession?

Old Lord Gouchen seemed to have guessed. He couldn’t help but take another look at the heart devil.

The heart devil sighed. “To tell the truth, I didn’t want to make the three old charlatans compromise. I’d have loved to have a falling out and just, no holds barred.”

The corners of Old Lord Gouchen’s lips twitched. Inwardly, he said, If that happened, the Mountain of the Secluded Ones would simply fall apart! Everyone would suffer heavy casualties, even the ultimate victor!

Old Lord Gouchen pondered briefly, then said, “Fellow Daoist, the three founders have already announced their willingness to uphold our rules. It seems to me that we can end this here.” 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

The heart devil sighed. “The three old-timers dare not have a complete falling out, so I have to end it here, whether I like it or not.”

Old Lord Gouchen’s gaze was rife with meaning. “This means that, at least until the gathering storm hits the River of Destiny, you’ll have no need to fear similar incidents befalling Su Yi.”

The heart devil gave him a big thumbs up. “You really do understand me. Alright, then. I’ll just have to wait and see how you handle this.”

With that, he flung the captive Song Lan over to Old Lord Gouchen. Old Lord Gouchen didn’t even look at him. He just raised his hand and tapped, destroying Song Lan’s body and soul in the blink of an eye.

This time, they were gone for good!

The other Secluded Ones couldn’t help but look stricken. He killed him, just like that?

The heart devil clicked his tongue. “You defy heaven, combat the Dao, and determine life and death with a snap of your fingers! Ol’ Gouchen, your current cultivation base is a level above even mine in life.”

He’d destroyed a Dao Ancestor’s life and Grand Dao with a snap of his fingers, reducing him completely to ash. Such methods were far beyond ordinary Secluded Ones.

Old Lord Gouchen shook his head slightly. “Song Lan lost his clone first, damaging his foundations in the Grand Dao. Then, you repeatedly cut him apart with your unstoppable sword intent. His life force and Grand Dao had all but been frittered away. I simply seized the opportunity to finish him off.”

This wasn’t just modesty. If the heart devil hadn’t repeatedly destroyed Song Lan, Old Lord Gouchen couldn’t have killed a Dao Ancestor so easily.

“Your Excellency, you... killed Song Lan?” Old Ghost Meng couldn’t help but blurt it out, unable to accept it.

Song Lan had been one of the grandmasters of Three Purities Temple. He was a long-established expert of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones!

Yet now, he’d died over an incident in the Sea of Fate. This punishment seemed far too brutal!

Some of the Secluded Ones couldn’t bear it, and it seemed inappropriate, but they dared not object.

Old Lord Gouchen said calmly, “Breaking the rules is an insult to everyone in the Mountain of the Secluded Ones. How could I explain myself to my fellows had I let him live?”

“But...” Old Ghost Meng opened his mouth as if to object.

But Old Lord Gouchen said coldly, “The three founders permitted me to act as I saw fit. Don’t tell me you plan to redress an injustice on Song Lan’s behalf, Meng Yong?”

Old Ghost Meng fell silent.

The heart devil narrowed his eyes. “Old Ghost Meng knows full well that Three Purities Temple broke the rules, but he’s still helping Song Lan at every turn. He’s blatantly aiding and abetting another’s misdeeds. He clearly doesn’t take the rules seriously, either. Don’t you think he deserves punishment, too?”

The crowd was stunned. Song Lan’s death wasn’t enough for him? Does he want to kill Meng Yong, too?

“Nonsense! Don’t even think about it!” Old Ghost Meng looked stricken. “I didn’t break the rules! I never have, and I never will! The Mountain of the Secluded Ones has never punished people for having an opinion!”

The heart devil couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s why I didn’t kill you. Compared to Song Lan, you’re nothing but a bedbug. Killing you would only dirty my hands, and I couldn’t deal with the stench. You’d befoul the entire Secluded Realm. I’d really offend everyone then.”

Some of the Secluded Ones barely resisted the urge to laugh.

Old Ghost Meng’s face reddened, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. “You’re no more than a heart devil, and you’ve irrevocably offended Three Purities Temple. Do you really think you’re safe?

“The brewing storm will hit the River of Destiny within ten years. Let’s see if you’re still laughing then!”

As frustrated and angry as these words were, he wasn’t exaggerating. The three founders of Three Purities Temple might have compromised this time, but there was no way they were happy about it. It seemed inevitable that they’d seek revenge down the line.

When the storm hit the River of Destiny, the experts of the progenitor-level factions would see Su Yi as their prey. They’d surely go after his head!

The heart devil’s smile suddenly vanished. He fixed his cold gaze on Old Ghost Meng, then said coldly, “Scram. Get out of my sight immediately, or else, I’ll see you begging for death yet unable to die!”

The atmosphere was instantly stifled and oppressive.

Old Ghost Meng laughed coldly and was just about to say something when he met the heart devil’s cruel, indifferent gaze. His heart shook, and a chill coursed down his spine.

His instincts screamed that the heart devil really was bold enough to attack him, even here in the Secluded Realm!

In the end, he waved his sleeve in a huff, turned, and left. “Let’s just wait and see!”

When he left, the yellow-robed middle-aged man followed him in silence, but he dared not show any further sign of aggression. All of his bluster had faded away.

To the onlookers, it seemed that he’d left in abject defeat, his face in shambles.

The heart devil sneered. “The Mountain of the Secluded Ones is so shrouded in miasma precisely because it has too many scumbags like him!”

He’d just insulted everyone here. Many of the Secluded Ones’ expressions darkened.

Others felt deeply satisfied, including the Confucian, Wen Xun, who’d spoken up earlier. He smiled and nodded. “The truth of your words has resonated with my heart!”

Old Lord Gouchen laughed bitterly. “Fellow Daoist, how about we end this here?”

The heart devil smiled. “Very well. I can’t bear to make this any more difficult for you. Let’s end this here.”

With that, he swung his sleeves, put his hand behind his back, and walked off.

“Please wait, Fellow Daoist.” Old Lord Gouchen hurriedly called him back.

“What is it?” asked the heart devil. He didn’t even turn his head.

Old Lord Gouchen asked, “Don't you want to know what happened in the Sea of Fate?”

Actually, he wanted to seize this opportunity to converse with the heart devil and confirm a few of his hypotheses.

For instance, he had an inkling of who had convinced the founders of Three Purities Temple to stay out of this, but couldn’t confirm it.

But the heart devil shook his head. “It’s enough as long as Su Yi is alive. As for the rest? I don’t want to know, and knowing would do me no good. It’d just create unnecessary trouble. Better not to know.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he walked off.

Since leaving Su Yi’s side and joining the Secluded Ones in the Secluded Realm, the heart devil had disliked interacting with other people, no matter who they were. He preferred to be alone, and he spent most of his time sleeping and thinking.

From time to time, he’d put his hands behind his back and take a stroll through the Secluded Realm, but he always did so alone.

The Secluded Ones watched him leave, then sighed in inexplicable relief. Only now did they realize that, although the heart devil’s temperament and style were completely different from the Big Boss they remembered, he put every bit as much pressure on them!

Old Lord Gouchen stood in silence for a while, then turned and left. This storm was over, but it had planted the seeds of an even greater danger yet to come!

But the true crux of it all wasn’t the Mountain of the Secluded Ones, nor was it the Big Boss’s heart devil. Rather, it was... Su Yi!

Because the Big Boss’s reincarnation was rapidly running out of time!

......

The Secluded Realm was huge. Even combined, the thirty-three continents of the Eternal Heavens Domain filled less than a tenth of it.

The heart devil walked alone through the boundless landscape, hands behind his back. There was no longer any sign of a smile on his face.

“I had to trouble you this time, kid,” he said softly.

A tall, thin figure appeared beside the heart devil, then walked beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

He was dressed in plain, simple robes, and he looked young. A fist-sized cauldron hovered above his left shoulder, scattering dreamlike, ethereal chaos qi.

“Uncle, working on your behalf is no trouble at all.” The young man smiled and laughed.

Had Su Yi been here, he’d have recognized him at a glance. This was the very young man he’d encountered long ago, back in the Human Realm. It was he who’d helped hide the Dark and Gold Star Realm.

His name was Chen Pu, and when they first met, he addressed Su Yi as his uncle and referred to himself as a junior.

But here in the Secluded Realm, he had an altogether different title—Barbarian Chen.

He was one of the founders of the Mountain of the Secluded Ones.

To most of the Secluded Ones, his identity and origins were shrouded in mystery. Even now, none had any answers.