Chapter 1027: Acting Separately
“Haha! It really is Miss Mo Chen. I did not expect to meet you here. Since we bumped into each other, come up here and have a seat.”
Another person appeared beside Gu Jiange, seeming to be about the same age and wearing magnificent clothes. This person revealed a faint smile.
However, as this person’s gaze lingered on Mo Chen’s exquisite figure, his eyes hid a depraved and evil look. With one glance, it was clear he was not a good person.
“The Young City Lord of Separated Cloud City, Shi Feng!”
Unexpectedly, the Young City Lords of the Broken Cloud Sea and Separated Cloud Sea were at Shattered Cloud City.
These two men were both outstanding talents of Cloud Sea Domain. Their fathers were quasi-Emperors, people of great strength and influence in Cloud Sea Domain.
Mo Chen felt upset in her heart. She rejected, “Mo Chen has some important matters to deal with. I can only apologize for refusing your invitation.”
After saying that, she spun around to leave.
Shi Feng’s face turned wooden. His escort immediately understood what he wanted, and jumped off the warship to block Xiao Chen and Mo Chen.
“Miss Mo Chen, my Young City Lord is only inviting you to have a drink and chat. There is no need to reject him so decisively.”
The person blocking Xiao Chen and Mo Chen with his arms outstretched in front of them was a Medial Grade Martial Sage about fifty years old.
“Did you not hear that my Young Miss has something important to deal with?”
Xiao Chen felt unhappy in his heart. He was in a rush to purchase the crucial ingredients for the Heavenly Origin Pill and did not have any time to waste here.
“Is it your place to speak?”
When that escort saw that Xiao Chen was just a mere Martial Monarch but dared to point at him, he got angry and took three steps forward.
With each step, huge waves surged on the sea surface, shaking up the surroundings as he executed an extremely cunning Movement Technique.
Although they were only three steps, they were extremely cunning. The escort’s figure turned illusory like a ghostly figure. Then, he smashed down with his palm, like an eagle hunting prey, trying to grab Xiao Chen’s head.
“Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations!”
Xiao Chen’s figure trembled and turned equally illusory. Nine figures appeared, all moving differently and having different expressions.
Compared to that ghostly Movement Technique, Xiao Chen’s made it hard to differentiate the real from the fake.
That escort could not help but lose his bearings in that instant, feeling unable to attack.
While the escort could not see through Xiao Chen’s Movement Technique, that did not mean that Xiao Chen could not see through his. The nine figures merged back into one and punched with surging Vital Qi.
An azure-colored dragon head formed on the fist. This was the Dragon Claw Fist that Xiao Chen had not used for a long time.
The dragon roared and struck the escort’s chest, knocking him far away and not giving him a chance to get up again.
Xiao Chen’s left hand opened into a claw, connecting the head to a tail. An Azure Dragon formed of pure Vital Qi flew out in a berserk manner and smacked this escort into the air once more.
“Young Master Shi, pardon this offense. Mo Chen does indeed have an urgent matter at hand. I will take my leave first!”
After coldly saying that, Mo Chen continued on her way. This place was the Shattered Cloud Sea, so she was not afraid of these two people.
As Shi Feng watched Mo Chen’s disappearing figure, he endured his anger. “If this were the Separated Cloud Sea, let’s see if she’d dare to cast me aside like that.”
Gu Jiange smiled and said, “It is just a girl. Brother Shi, there is no need to get so angry.”
“How can I not be angry? Who do you think I am? I am the Young City Lord of Separated Cloud City. Despite my repeated invitations, she keeps rejecting me. This time, she even attacked my servant,” Shi Feng scolded with murderous intent on his face.
Gu Jiange did not reply to that. Instead, he said, “Who is that person beside her? He does not have a high cultivation, but his physical body is startlingly strong. He does not look like a Mo Clan cultivator.”
Shi Feng said coldly, “This person is very bold, even daring to attack my Shi Clan’s people.”
Gu Jiange said sullenly, “Let this matter rest first. This time, we eight Young City Lords are gathering at Shattered Cloud City to discuss our going to the treasure mountain. We should not be late.”
After the reminder about the trip to the treasure mountain, the angry Shi Feng calmed down. He only stared at Xiao Chen’s figure, but the murderous intent in his eyes never faded.
---
As Xiao Chen watched Mo Chen walking ahead of him in silence, he felt some sorrow in his heart.
Sometimes, being too beautiful was problematic. As for what exactly Mo Chen looked like, he could not see clearly, as she wore a veil.
However, when he considered the silhouette of her exquisite figure, her star-like eyes, her fair skin, and how the various outstanding talents of the Cloud Sea Domain were pursuing her, he was convinced that she was a beauty.
However, in this Cloud Sea Domain where the strong ate the weak, without the protection of a clan, beauty only brought disaster.
It had to be difficult for Mo Chen to endure all these years.
---
Shi Feng and Gu Jiange rode the warship into the city, entering unhindered. They even managed to arrive at the City Lord’s Residence before Mo Chen.
There were already six people waiting in the great hall of the City Lord’s Residence. The weapons of these six were extraordinary. They all had proud attitudes, radiating arrogance from their entire being.
These people were Superior Grade Martial Sages. To have achieved such a cultivation at a young age, they did indeed have the right to be proud within the Cloud Sea Domain.
The one seated in the middle was the Young City Lord of Shattered Cloud City, whose father, a quasi-Emperor, ruled the Shattered Cloud Sea.
The other people were of extraordinary backgrounds as well, in no way inferior to the one in the middle. They were the Young City Lords of the Cloud Sea Domain.
With the arrival of Shi Feng and Gu Jiange, the Young City Lords of the eight great cities of the Cloud Sea Domain had all gathered.
The Young City Lord of Shattered Cloud City, Wang Jue, stood up to welcome the new arrivals with a smile. “Brother Shi, Brother Gu, why were you two so late?”
Shi Feng said unhappily, “We met with some trouble on the way. If not for giving Brother Wang face, I would have flipped out on the spot.”
Wang Jue’s expression changed slightly. The others all revealed interested expressions as they quickly asked what happened.
As Shi Feng spoke about meeting Mo Chen, he embellished the story.
“This Mo Chen really thinks herself as a golden phoenix. She just controls one insignificant Rank 6 clan, yet she dares to show me her temper and even have my subordinate beaten up.”
At this point, Shi Feng paused for a moment. He shot a glance at Wang Jue and said, “Brother Wang, I know you are interested in this girl, so I gave you some face and did not lose my temper then. However, this time, we are working together to seek fortuitous encounters at the treasure mountain. No matter what, you have to give me some compensation.”
The Frost Cloud City’s Young City Lord, Meng Xingwen, smiled in agreement. “What kind of status do we have? With the flip of a hand, we can destroy a Rank 6 clan. This Mo Chen is rather unbecoming; she even dares to attack Brother Shi’s subordinate. That is indeed too unbecoming.”
“We really should show our tempers to this Mo Chen. Brother Wang, you cannot protect her anymore.”
The others seemed to have thought of something and took the opportunity to pile on the pressure.
These people had drooled over Mo Chen’s beauty and unique refining skills for a long time already. However, she was in the Shattered Cloud Sea, and they did not dare to force their way over. On the other hand, they had failed to win her heart with their charms.
In the end, the one who would benefit would definitely be Wang Jue. Naturally, the other seven did not feel happy at this.
In the Cloud Sea Domain, these people were like nobles, possessing great influence. They were the local tyrants, accustomed to being arrogant, willful, and domineering.
These Young City Lords had long since lost their patience with Mo Chen. If not for Wang Jue, they would have already used malicious means.
Wang Jue’s expression changed. Soon, he smiled and said, “I know that you all are thinking. I will not let a girl affect our friendship.
“Truthfully, my patience is wearing off as well.”
All along, Wang Jue had planned on obtaining both the girl and the wealth. He wanted to rely on his charms to subdue Mo Chen. Then, he would get not only her heart but the Mo Clan’s refining methods as well.
However, despite working hard for so many years, he still had no results. Now that the others were making things difficult for him, he took advantage of the situation to stop wasting time.
Shi Feng’s eyes lit up. He had not expected his casual words to have such an effect. He said, “Then, Brother Wang, what is your plan?”
“What is my plan?” Wang Jue smiled coldly and said, “Soon, she will be bringing a Secret Treasure to the City Lord’s Residence.
“At that time, I will give her one final chance. If she still does not agree, hehe! I will just do it by force. As for how you brothers want to do it, I will not care.”
“Hahaha!” Shi Feng laughed loudly. “Brother Wang, you are really sincere. This serves Mo Chen right. Brother Wang has the highest position here. You showed so much passion and even gave her so much face, but she rejected it. Whatever befalls her is on her.”
Wang Jue sat down and took a sip of tea. “Let’s continue our previous topic. The treasure mountain is full of danger. It has not only a lot of beasts but also the combat puppets that the Fire Li Sect refined, many traps, formations, and restrictions. Only with our eight clans working together can we get the greatest benefit.”
“The two great merchant associations of the Cloud Sea Domain will definitely send people. There are also some old fellows of the Cloud Sea Domain who will not be able to resist.”
“These people are not the most worrying ones. I only fear that there will be people from the Southern Sea and Northern Sea.”
“That’s not a problem. Such a small place like the Cloud Sea Domain will not attract the attention of these people. Even if they come, so what? The mighty dragon is no match for the snake on the ground. With our eight clans working together, they will have to consider carefully.”
[TL Note: A strong dragon cannot repress a snake: This means that a strong person cannot defeat someone with a home-ground advantage.]
As the eight discussed, they considered all sorts of variables for the trip to the treasure mountain.
------
Outside the City Lord’s Residence, Xiao Chen tried to enter with Mo Chen. However, the guards stopped him.
“The Young City Lord ordered that only Miss Mo Chen alone may enter. The servants may not enter,” one of the proud guards at the gates said coldly to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen frowned slightly, not liking the other party’s tone.
“Never mind. Young Master Wen, go to the herb store in the city first. I will meet up with you later,” Mo Chen said with a soft voice.
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “In that case, be careful.”
Mo Chen smiled faintly. “Haha! It is fine. I have come to this City Lord’s Residence several times already. It is not a den of tigers. Just wait for me; there is no need to worry.”
Seeing Mo Chen enter the City Lord’s Residence gave rise to an ominous premonition in Xiao Chen’s heart.
Shaking his head, he turned to leave, attaching a strand of his Spiritual Sense to Mo Chen. If she was in danger, he could come over immediately.
Although the two worked together, they did not have much of a friendship.
However, Xiao Chen was someone true to his words. He had promised to be Mo Chen’s bodyguard for one year, so he would ensure her safety for that period.
Hopefully, nothing would happen. The City Lord’s Residence was rife with experts. With his current strength, barging in would be difficult.
Nevertheless, if something really happened, even if a quasi-Emperor appeared, Xiao Chen would bring Mo Chen out without any second thoughts.
---
The largest herb store in Shattered Cloud City was called Medicinal Cauldron Pavilion.
Cultivators needed medicine for injuries, for cultivating, and for assistance in breaking through bottlenecks.
No matter where it was, an herb store would enjoy good business. Such a large city like Shattered Cloud City would be no exception.
Rivers crisscrossed the city, forming lakes that allowed people to travel unhindered. Xiao Chen flagged down a small boat and paid some Astral Coins. Then, the boatman set off, bringing him to Medicinal Cauldron Pavilion.