Chapter 123 - 122: Ancestral King Wu, Wu Jiao!
Chapter 123 - 122: Ancestral King Wu, Wu Jiao!
Bai Lin could only helplessly watch as she was dragged back, forcefully landed on the ground, and restrained by some invisible force. It felt as if the entire world was pressing against her body. This feeling felt like her life was no longer her own; it was incredibly frustrating and frightening.
Su Mei's heart rumbled endlessly with trepidation at events. She hadn't expected that their escape would be intercepted in such a strange way. Her eyes lifted towards the sky like everyone else, and that feeling of fear only increased.
Up above was a man that stood upon the sky as if flat ground. Could this figure even be called a man? He seemed to exude boundless majesty and imperial authority, like an Emperor of all creation.
Those with sufficient cultivation bases could see this man's features. He was tall and slender, with a middle-aged visage that perfectly accentuated an age sufficient to possess wisdom, cunning, grave, humility, while containing an earned sharpness. His eyebrows were thick and forceful. Every curve of his brow could send tremors down other's spine, especially as it tilted.
His eyes weren't a color. It was a myriad of colors that seemed to embody the essence of the night sky and all sorts of celestial bodies, brilliant and endless. He was exceptionally handsome, and despite being middle-aged, his youthful aura was still present. This wasn't an indication that he was young, but that his yang energies were incredibly vibrant.
In his golden and white robes, he seemed like an immortal descending to the mortal world. The presence as if he was a part of the world only matched this belief in the minds of others.
Wei Wuyin, Su Mei, Long Chen, all the Godlords present, and all the other guests, were thoroughly and completely awed. This awe originated from their hearts, minds, and spirits. This man's existence felt far and high, as if a demi-god blessing others with their presence.
This was most certainly because of his impressive cultivation base that held no equal among those present. Those eyes of his that seemed to contain the stars were calm.
"Hm?" He made a slight sound as that imperious gaze descended upon a collapsed figure. It was King Wu. He remained calm as he waved his sleeve. This action was casual and without a hint of urgency. A gossamer-like stream of refined spiritual energies left his sleeves and traveled elegantly downwards towards the body of this grandson of his.
Everyone watched as this spiritual energy that no longer seemed like conventional spiritual energy slowly descended unhurriedly. It entered King Wu's body like a steady stream entering a narrow channel. In a few breathless moments, the spiritual energies vanished and King Wu started emitting a faint glow.
"Argh…" King Wu's voice came out as an agonized cough. It felt painful and disoriented, but it revealed that his life was still present. Despite Long Chen's Sword of True Slaughter, containing both Sword and Slaughter Intent, it was unable to instantly kill King Wu.
All these eyes continued to soundlessly watch as King Wu's spiritual aura was regained, and his spiritual qi once more circulated. Whatever energy inserted to his body was rapidly improving his condition with every breath.
Wei Wuyin's senses were clearer than everyone present, except perhaps this new arrival. He observed clearly how the refined spiritual energies helped rejuvenate and restore the nearly destroyed spirit of King Wu. It was in the midst of dissipating, his status as a cripple cementing with each passing second, but a casual stream of energy allowed him to recuperate in mere moments.
This was both an exceptional and dreadful event! Wei Wuyin's heart quivered as he pondered the implications. Was this the strength that those who exceeded the Mortal Dao possessed? Is this the ability of an Astral Core Realm expert?
What would normally be impossible for any Qi Condensation expert was easily accomplished. The feeling of dread only intensified as he realized that his plans and strategies might be wholly irrelevant. Witnessing this figure bring Bai Lin back with an invisible force that he couldn't sense outside of 'feeling as if the world had taken action' was a reeling experience.
His mind circulated endlessly as he contemplated his current position. A hint of hope flashed in his mind as he considered himself neutral, besides kidnapping the seer. If this figure decided to take action, then perhaps he could skate away without an issue. However, this thought was wiped away from his mind.
"I don't want to live my life hoping!" This phrase was the instigation that jolted his heart of cultivation once more. He had never given up nor had he ever allowed others to dictate his choices. There was always a way to ensure survival, and he would seek it. While fighting felt useless, believing in the hope that someone would do something was a failure's mentality from the on-set.
His silver eyes brightened as he stared at this immortal-like figure.
Step. Step. Step.
This figure slowly walked downwards from the sky, descending as if the world was his staircase, even and calm. Each step caused a jolt in everyone's heart.
"Haaa…" King Wu seemed to have regained consciousness with a long sigh and a slight cough. He forcefully pulled himself up as he remembered his location. How could a lofty King fall to a junior? He felt angered at events, but when he lifted his head to inspect the surroundings, no one was looking at him.
He slowly lifted his eyes upwards and felt the thumps of his heart correlate to each step. His throat was somewhat dry, his eyes flashed with fear, and he felt a numbness in his mind. "Gran-Grandfather!" His exclamation was like a thundering clap as everyone came to the abrupt realization as to who this man was.
He looked younger than King Wu! Yet, when one checked the resemblance, there truly was some between them!
King Wu's Grandfather was the hegemon of the Wu Country, the Ancestral King of Wu, and sole Astral Core Realm that reigned supreme. He was a true powerhouse of the entire Myriad Yore Continent. A figure that all had to respect and fear or else.
Wu Jiao!
This name defined an era. It was his name that founded the Wu Country a millennia ago. It was his name that used mounds and mounds of corpses and rivers of blood to establish the prosperity of this country. Anyone worth their weight would know this name.
Wu Jiao stopped his movements as he turned those starry eyes towards Wu Yu, this grandson of his. "Are you even worthy to remain King?" His words were spoken evenly and with the utmost calm yet it chilled everyone's hearts.
King Wu hurriedly kneeled with a heavy thud, cold sweat dripping down his back and forehead. "Ancestral King, I know I've wronged! Please punish me!"
"..."
This lofty king transformed into a pitiful filial child begging for mercy and leniency by admitting his wrongs. The shock was not small in anyone's hearts. Where was the figure that seemed to dominate heaven and earth, sentence those to death with a mere word, and acted with the utmost calm?!
Wu Jiao ignored King Wu, not even deigning to coldly snort or offer any response. This truly caused King Wu's heart to feel as if it was dropped into a frozen lake. His teeth clenched as he realized that his ineptness resulted in his grandfather exiting his cultivation. It was a sin that he could not bear.
His hatred brimmed as he glanced at the bloody and tattered figure of Long Chen. It was seething and boiling to the surface with an unfathomable intensity. This was all his fault!
And his too! Prince Chen, who stood with an uneasy and uncertain expression while holding that recording crystal with damning evidence. This hatred had been bred and cultivated over the course of this single day, and it was remarkably high. If he was given the chance, this son of his would be executed!
When he recalled all these spontaneous events, he grinded his teeth even harder.
Prince Lei was his favorite and most cherished son. Therefore, while he knew he went overboard sometimes and had even gained the allegiance of the Hidden Shadow Domain, this was all according to his plans.
In fact, father and son had calculated this meticulously. The others wished to establish a puppet on the throne, but didn't he as well? His time to govern was soon coming to an end, but he still loved and desired the power and authority of a king.
Being a strong cultivator was an extraordinary feat, but actively ruling hundreds of millions of people was a feeling that he felt could never be trumped. Unfortunately, the Ancestral King, his grandfather, had already declared that he could no longer remain king.
Thus, he used this opportunity to culture a plan. He made it seem like he'd long since reconsidered Prince Lei as a last candidate possible, had him over indulge, and be seen as a juicy piece for the crafty Hu Jiwei and Ba Chen. With two Godkings supporting Prince Lei, oh the things he could do behind the shadows!
Yet this young cultivator wanted to ruin everything and even kill him and his son! For a woman, no less! A woman who agreed to marry his son!! And the throne too, of course.
As for that traitorous Prince Chen, a son he never, never liked as he constantly pranced around spouting naive nonsense about peace, love, and union. He was such a fool that made his stomach turn in disgust.
While this thinking could lead to peace for the country, it would ultimately limit its growth severely and never be able to rise above any others. He had big dreams and ruling one country was only the start.
As for Prince Zhen, his life and death wasn't really important. In fact, he hoped he'd act as a good guardian and protector for Prince Lei. After all, this son of his believed in filial piety and was fiercely loyal. Even with Prince Lei taking his position as king and his fiancee, he never once went against his father's words or decisions. He had even fought to protect Prince Lei and held little back in doing so.
He was an older son to be proud of. A guardian who believed in the clan and its greatness. While he had ambition, he wasn't overly ambitious. He wasn't aware of Prince Lei's attempt to kill Prince Zhen, but even if it happened, it wasn't much of a loss.
Unfortunately, now that his grandfather was disturbed, his chances of having anything to do with ruling the country was reduced to dust in his mouth.
Long Chen was the focus here, as he was the cause of all this, and thus the one most responsible. He touched an unassuming black ring on his finger that was oddly the only part of his hand not drenched in blood. His gaze was calm as he regarded Wu Jiao.
Wu Jiao swept his gaze over everyone, and halted on Long Chen. A brow raised as interest flitted through his eyes. "A Dual Spirit? Sword and Slaughter Intent? And...your Spirits seemed to be able to control…" He didn't finish as he revealed an expression of wonder. After a certain memory entered his thoughts, he shook his head. Those who saw that slight movement knew it was a shake of pity.
Then, he felt something. His gaze shifted to Wei Wuyin. This gaze was unexpected. Wei Wuyin felt a spiritual sense attempt to strip away all his secrets. However, he felt his Draconic Spirit of Blood and Alchemic Spirit of Eden Qi slowly recede into the recesses of his heart and mind.
Even the innate bloodline powers within his blood had concealed itself in an inexplicable way.
Wu Jiao could only see Wei Wuyin's surface, but he revealed a hint of surprise. "Saber Intent? Your fleshy body is abnormally refined to an exceptional limit. It even eclipses my own…" Those words, while spoken with just a hint of surprise, made Wei Wuyin the focus of the crowd.
Anyone who can cultivate Intent was a genius amongst geniuses of an era. Their combat ability and talent was far beyond their cultivation limit and others respectively. But to have a body that even an Astral Core Realm expert couldn't compare to, this startled many.
Wei Wuyin realized that Wu Jiao hadn't detected his Alchemic Qi or Draconic Bloodline Power. They had somehow hid from his senses.
"Oh?" Wu Jiao's eyes narrowed slightly.
Wei Wuyin didn't hesitate to act upon seeing this shift. He waved his hand and brought forth a sphere of white mist that contained dozens of pellets with various colors. While he didn't have a treasure, he didn't want his life and death to be dictated by others.
With that, he brought out his first plan. The misty sphere rapidly shifted into another copy of Wei Wuyin. It formed an exact duplicate, barring the spirits residing within him. When it formed, volatile energies started to radiate outwards. It created a pressurized storm that caused all small objects and people to be pushed a few meters back.
Wu Jiao didn't seem concerned as he looked at Wei Wuyin's clone. "You've embedded pellets into your avatar? Is this your life-saving card?"
Wei Wuyin fearlessly said, "Yes. If you make even a single move, the energies within will detonate with a thought and everyone will die here today. While you might be exempted, that's not my goal."
Wu Jiao was silent for a moment as he said with a hint of a smile, "I can take everyone I wish out of this area with ease." He spoke as if this matter was minor to take those within out of this wedding venue.
Wei Wuyin calmly smiled, standing upright as he stared at this figure above that seemed to possess boundless power and abilities. "You're mistaken."
"Hm?" Wu Jiao lifted a brow.
"When I said everyone will die here today, I meant the entire city: the ENTIRE Heavenly Wu City." His smile turned into a grin as he snapped his fingers. The pellets within his clone started to reveal their identities and true power.
Wu Jiao, for the first time, had his expression change!