Sovereign Of The Three Realms Chapter 1081-1090

Sovereign Of The Three Realms

(SOTR)

Chapter 1081: Dragon and Tiger Brothers

Third Master Jing stared at Jiang Chen for a long while before snickering suddenly. “If I remember correctly, you were the one trying to buy up sky rank spirit herbs in the shops around town earlier, were you not?”

“If I could buy what I wanted with spirit stones, what would I be doing here?” Jiang Chen said coolly.

Third Master Jing chuckled. “Well, you certainly look pathetic. Here, I’ll take a step back: two sky rank spirit herbs, two earth rank spirit herbs, and two hundred million saint spirit stones. I think that’s a more than fair price, and it’s my last call. Any more haggling, and I’ll make sure that you never find the Smiling Bodhi you’re looking for in this city.”

The last statement was accompanied with an uncommon flare of banditry. Both conclusion and man seemed unquestionable and unchallengeable.

All the onlookers had their eyes on Jiang Chen. Clearly, the young man was in a lot of trouble after having been marked by Jing Third. He was about to be forced into the transaction, whether he wanted to or not. Few escaped from this particular lowlife’s clutches.

Jiang Chen knew that this was highway robbery, but he urgently needed the Bodhi to save a life. If he didn’t buy it off Jing Third, no one else in the city would dare sell him one, either.

Jing Third’s Bodhi was Emperor Peerless’s only hope. No matter how unwilling he was, the circumstances dictated what he had to do. Suppressing his rage, he nodded. “You’re a shrewd businessman, Jing Third. Fine, it’s a deal.”

The two sky rank spirit herbs prepared prior were taken out and the rest of the materials in the transaction added to the pile. Honestly, seeing so much wealth out in the open was enough to give anyone a blood rush. ‘One should not flaunt one’s wealth’ was a common idiom, but Jiang Chen could not afford to adhere to it presently.

Third Master Jing’s cocksure confidence made him feel far less calm than he was displaying. In all of Jiang Chen’s life, he had always taken advantage of others. Never had he been wrung out in such a way. Not that he couldn’t bear to ever lose, but he had lost in a very awkward way. It wasn’t a loss he was willing to take. What the third master had done was blackmail. Third Master Jing might deny coercion, but it would be patently untrue.

Furthermore, the manner in which Third Master Jing had acted was less than pleasant. Despite the enormous benefit he was enjoying from the sale, his tone was one of mock accommodation. “Little brother Shao,” he laughed, “you should know that I’m always happy to lend a helping hand. Don’t forget to keep in touch if you have anything else you need help with here.”

Jiang Chen took the Smiling Bodhi in hand, checking it over for problems. After ensuring there were none, he put it away emotionlessly.

“You have such prestige here in Frostmoon City, Third Master Jing. Whomever else could I get to help me?” Jiang Chen smiled ever so slightly, drifting out with nary a word more.

There was a wave of hushed murmurs in the crowd behind him. It was a collective exclamation of surprise. The youth had a strong spirit and deep pockets. Two sky rank spirit herbs, two earth rank spirit herbs, and two hundred million saint spirit stones… it was no small sum, and yet he’d given it away with little pause. The crowd didn’t know why Jiang Chen needed the Smiling Bodhi so badly, but they were nevertheless impressed with his affluence.

Still, some breathed a sigh of lamentation for him. The youth’s age and inexperience showed through. If he was going to suffer a big loss regardless, why didn’t he butter up Third Master Jing a little? Leaving behind those baleful words would only provoke hatred from the other man. Everyone acquainted with Third Master Jing was familiar with his pettiness.

If that young man had showered him with flattery and praise, perhaps that would be the end of the matter. But an offering of disdain was another matter, as thinly veiled as it was. Wasn’t that just making more trouble for himself? Those who had past dealings with Third Master Jing knew that certain developments were due down the road. Of course, no onlooker would poke his head into the third master’s business. Quite the opposite, they had to express their support for him out in the open.

“Youngsters nowadays don’t know what’s good for them.”

“That’s right. If not for the third master, he wouldn’t be able to get one Smiling Bodhi for ten sky rank spirit herbs!”

“Exactly. He’s taking the third master’s generosity for granted and spitting on his goodwill. Young men like that…”

“Hmph. No matter where he’s from, it’s suicide to be so dismissive of the third master here in Frostmoon City.”

Third Master Jing basked in the people’s adulation. He accepted all of them with a face full of smiles, then gave a casual wave before storming off himself, henchmen in tow. There was another wave of sighs as the man left the premises.

“No wonder third master is the richest man in the city. His money certainly comes easily and quickly.”

“The third master conducts his business through special methods. You can’t just not deal with him. You’ll end up needing him in the end anyway. That young man looked very well-off, but he was too naïve.”

Though the comments sounded fawning, they hid daggers of aversion.

Some were even brave enough to sing a different tune, under their breaths. “Even an idiot can make money like that. It’s just using power and influence to bully people, isn’t it? He’s happy about it because he gets the cash, but he’s also destroying Frostmoon City’s reputation.”

“I agree. Outsiders who’ve visited shake their heads at the sound of our city’s name. They aren’t interested in buying or selling pills and spirit herbs here anymore.”

“Ah, there’s a reason why Frostmoon City is dropping lower and lower in the esteem of the Upper Eight Regions. Infamy typically has a reason.” By now, the people were publicly criticizing Third Master Jing’s behavior. His actions could be summed up in three words: bullying the market.

Naturally, they took care to keep their volumes relatively low. They didn’t want the others to hear and inform Third Master Jing, lest he be offended. In Frostmoon City, few could remain comfortable after offending this character.

For the time being, Jiang Chen wasn’t in the mood to concern himself with the third master. No matter how strong his displeasure, he kept everything to himself. His first priority was to return to the inn, then refine the antidote and cure Emperor Peerless. This Smiling Bodhi had cost him dearly, but at least he had it now. With it, Jiang Chen had an over ninety percent chance at awakening the emperor once more. Moreover, there would be no lasting effects whatsoever.

It was all thanks to Jiang Chen’s exclusive methods. Any other pill king or emperor on the continent could not say the same. As for the empyrean pill sages above the pill emperors, Jiang Chen couldn’t say. He hadn’t seen any in person after all, much less observed their skills at work. Returning to the inn, he found Long Xiaoxuan on careful watch duty. There had been no unexpected developments while he was gone.

“You owe me another favor.” When he saw Jiang Chen back, the dragon looked the very image of impudence.

Jiang Chen snickered. “Brother Long, I owe you too many favors. I can hardly count them all. Let’s find an opportunity so I can repay them all at once, eh?”

“I’ll keep track.” Long Xiaoxuan grinned suddenly. “Remember the spirit beast you got at Pillfire City? I don’t like its aura. Where’re you keeping it?”

“What are you going to do, my good dragon brother?” Jiang Chen hurriedly asked.

“Why so sensitive? Worried that I’ll eat it?” Long Xiaoxuan was particularly full of himself today.

Jiang Chen gave his draconic friend a once-over and chuckled. “Brother Long, why do I have the feeling that your ego grew with your transformation?”

“Don’t change the subject. Where’re you keeping the spirit beast? Let me see it.”

“Brother Long, please don’t ask after it any more. I definitely won’t let you eat it. Even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to assimilate its bloodline,” Jiang Chen tried to cover a second time for his new pet.

“Two things,” Long Xiaoxuan complained. “First, I have no interest in a little cub like that whatsoever. Second, I’m the descendant of an ancient dragon! There is no bloodline that I can’t assimilate.”

“Maybe not this time,” Jiang Chen smiled mysteriously. “Brother Long, not many ancient spirit beast bloodlines can boast sovereign natures. The true dragons are such a breed, and you’re one of them yourself, but they are hardly the only breed in the heavenly planes.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying that the little cub you have also has a sovereign bloodline, fit to rule the heavenly planes?” Long Xiaoxuan’s tone shifted towards skepticism.

“I can’t say for sure right this moment, but my instincts tell me that’s not far from the truth. If so, then you and him can be tiger and dragon brothers, right? You’ll both be great helpers for me.”

Long Xiaoxuan felt a flash of inspiration from his inherited memories. His face colored a little. “Does that tiger… have the bloodline of the ancient Astral White Tigers?”

In ancient times, very few kinds of spirit beasts were eligible for rulership. The Eastern True Dragons, the Astral White Tigers, the Blazing Vermilion Birds, and the Ophidian Black Tortoises were all such species. Besides those, a few other bloodlines were considered equal but slightly lesser. The qilin, the peafowl, the kunpeng… a few dozen other bloodlines on this level existed, ranking only marginally lower than the Four Aspects mentioned above. Below them were the countless other species of spirit beasts.

“It’s only a small suspicion,” Jiang Chen smiled. “I haven’t the time yet to test its blood to confirm. It’s still only a cub anyway, and has experienced no awakenings of hereditary memories. In fact, it appears just as a normal Cloud Devouring Tiger would. How unfortunate for its previous owner… in both senses of the word. Alright, Brother Long. I’ll need you to protect me while I refine some antidotes. If anything comes up, do as you like.”

Jiang Chen had no time for further chatter with his dragon buddy. Time awaited for no one. The quicker he refined the antidotes, the better Emperor Peerless and Madame Yun’s chances were. As it was a situation with actual lives on the line, Jiang Chen put everything he had into it. Thankfully, the most difficult thing about neutralizing the Seven Emotions Poison was analyzing its toxicity and finding a way to beat it. The antidote itself was nothing special.

The refining process was complete in under an hour. Jiang Chen ended up refining two different forms of the antidote. One was spirit fluid, and the other in the form of a pill. The Seven Emotions Poison was quite cruel. It did not solely attack one’s organs through the bloodstream, but seeped into one’s skin and pores as well. Its final destination was its victim’s consciousness, having the power to lock on and consume a cultivator’s ocean.

Emperor Peerless and his cultivation partner were only in the stages of having their oceans of consciousness sealed away. There hadn’t yet been any destruction. Once their consciousnesses were gone, even the immortals wouldn’t be able to save them.

Chapter 1082: Third Master Jings Repeat Provocation

After creating the antidote, Jiang Chen decided to tackle Emperor Peerless’ poison first because all clothing had to be removed for treatment. This was so one could make sure the poison was fully expelled. The Seven Emotions Poison was extremely lethal. Even a small speck left in the body was capable of growing into another lethal dose in merely a few days. Removing all traces of it from the body was of utmost importance.

Since the emperor was a man, Jiang Chen didn’t feel the need to hold back. Considering the circumstances, he would’ve saved Madame Yun first, but his hands were tied because of the disrobing requirement. Thus, he decided to cleanse the emperor’s poison first. The emperor could expel Madame Yun’s poison after he was cured.

The process of expelling the poison was significantly harder than refining the antidote. Jiang Chen fed the emperor the pill first and used his inner energy to guide it into the emperor’s body. After that, he guided the liquid antidote through the emperor’s blood vessels and acupoints, and moved onto the skin and pores. He approached this step very meticulously.

His senses were much more sensitive than normal thanks to the God’s Eye and Psychic’s Head. Not many could compete with his observation skills either. A regular person would have to look very carefully to locate every single pore. However, Jiang Chen needed only sweep his consciousness across the body to get a clear glance. He repeated the process three more times before he finally expelled all of the poison from the emperor’s body. Now came the last step: expelling the poison barricading the emperor’s consciousness. This was also the most difficult step.

He had to guide the antidote through the emperor’s sea of consciousness, slowly exhuming each strand of poison encountered. Extreme care was needed in this step as any oversight would lead to a relapse, throwing all of his previous efforts down the drain. The extent of Jiang Chen’s concentration was on full display.

Before this, he only used an hour to expel the poison from the emperor’s body. But for the emperor’s consciousness, he had to spend at least two hours. The sky gradually darkened, and the land was enveloped in a curtain of darkness. Jiang Chen was deep in concentration. He couldn’t afford to lose focus for even a second.

Suddenly, a few unwanted guests arrived at the inn they were staying at. These men wore uniform martial outfits, imparting an incredibly menacing air when they strode into the inn. The color immediately drained from the innkeeper’s face when he saw their outfits. He scrambled out from the counter to welcome them. “How may I help you…”

The innkeeper was incredibly polite, but these men didn’t respond in kind. A fierce-looking brute at the front of the group shoved the innkeeper away.

“Know your place!” The brute had the waist of a bear and the back of a tiger. His mountain-like figure nearly caused the innkeeper to wet his pants.

“Great c-cultivators, m-my inn…” The innkeeper was stuttering so much that he couldn’t even form proper words.

“Old man, is there a young man staying in your inn?” the fierce brute asked threateningly.

The innkeeper hastily answered. “W-which young man? There are a few young men staying at our inn right now. Whom is it you speak of?”

“Too much jabbering!” The fierce brute sent him flying with a large slap across the face. “Search the premises! Leave no room untouched!”

“We must find that whimpering brat! How dare he fool our master with his fake sky rank spirit herbs! That’s a death sentence!!”

The innkeeper vomited blood after being tossed a few dozen feet away. He didn’t dare to say anything else out of fear for his life. He could guess that they were Third Master Jing’s men after seeing their robes and hearing their words.

Third Master Jing was the biggest tyrant in Frostmoon City. Even the city lord had to show him face. He could do anything he wished in the city. Others ten times more powerful than the innkeeper would tremble before him, much less anyone in this small inn. The pageboys and assistants were dumbfounded when the innkeeper was sent flying. No one dared put up any form of resistance after this show of force.

Bam bam bam!

Like a pack of hungry wolves, the rest of the brutes kicked down doors one by one, turning the inn upside down. This angered the guests greatly, but any form of resistance was met with a swift slap to the face. The meeker guests sized up the situation and cooperated in their search, with the luckier ones were spared from a stinging slap.

All hell broke loose in the inn. There was loud yelling, women screaming, and sounds of fighting happening all at the same time. Some panicked so much that they even ran out of their rooms without their pants on.

The innkeeper was aghast when he saw this. He knew that business was done for. Nobody would ever want stay at his inn anymore after such a huge commotion. Even then, he still didn’t dare to speak a word against it. He could only accept it as fate.

“Innkeeper, since these people are Third Master Jing’s men, could they be looking for the guest in the sky suite? The young man who’s staying for a month,” a helper asked carefully.

The innkeeper immediately realized something and ran up front. “Great sir! I finally remember! Are you looking for a young man who has a few injured partners with him?”

The fierce brute grinned sinisterly. “Old man, why didn’t you say that earlier? Do you want us to flatten your inn?”

“N-no! I simply never thought it was him you were searching for! Great sir, I’m willing to lead the way if you wish to see him. Please, just stop harassing the other guests! Running an inn isn’t easy…” The innkeeper shoved a storage ring into the fierce brute’s hands as he was complaining. There was a million saint spirit stones inside.

The fierce brute was rather pleased by the innkeeper’s small token. He snorted and made a sweeping gesture. “Brothers, I’ve found the brat. Let’s get back to business.” He looked at the innkeeper. “Lead the way.”

The innkeeper was on the verge of tears. He knew this was wrong and immoral, but what else was he supposed to do? His inn would be in tatters if these men went any further! He had no choice but to sacrifice the young man.

The sky suite was located in a remote place. The innkeeper led them to the suites and pointed at a remote corner.

“Great sirs, that young man has booked a few of those rooms for a month. He should be inside one of them. Please, spare my inn some thought…”

“Piss off.” The fierce brute knew that the innkeeper would never dare lie to him. He marched towards the corner rooms confidently with his men.

The innkeeper mouth was quivering as he peeked from a wall corner.

“Halt.” The group brimming with violent intent stopped dead in their tracks.

A skinny, proud, and aloof young man stood in their way. He was staring at them coldly far down the hallway.

“Boss, it’s not him!”

“Did the innkeeper lie to us?”

The fierce brute waved at them dismissively and stepped forward. “Young man, are you alone or do you have others staying with you? Have them come out!”

These fierce brutes might seem as fierce as a tiger, but they were mostly just spineless cowards. They were showing the young man some respect because his face was filled with killing intent and didn’t seem like a pushover.

The youth glanced at them contemptuously. “Are you talking to me?”

“Young man, do you know who you’re talking to right now?”

“Who?” The young man snorted derisively. “Is it a problem if I don’t know who you are?”

The fierce brute could no longer contain his rage. He’d been on a warpath ever since arriving at inn. And despite his somewhat gentle tone now, this young lad was replying with such impudence!

“Brat, you’re the only person in Frostmoon City who dares speak to Third Master Jing’s men in this way!” The fierce brute motioned a command. “You two, cripple him!”

Two cultivators behind the brute charged towards the young man with full force. They were clearly not holding back. The hallway suddenly brimmed with killing intent.

The innkeeper was dumbfounded when he saw this. Who was this proud, young man? He had no recollection of the boy. Regardless, he was certain that this weak looking young man would be heavily injured after being attacked by those two men at full force. In fact, he might even die on the spot. However, something unexpected caught him by surprise in the next moment.

Those two men were extremely quick, but the young man suddenly made his move just before they were about to make contact. It almost seemed like he had some kind of demonic powers. The two brutes couldn’t even put up any sort of resistance as they were drawn in by his hands.

Splat! Blood splashed the hallway liberally after the sounds rang out.

The youth had sawed through their bodies with his hands like a hot knife through butter! He followed that up with pulling out their beating hearts and lungs with his bare hands.

The crowd stood there with their mouths agape.

“Hmph! Truly the heart of a wolf and the lung of a hound.” That youth expressed his disgust before throwing the organs at the fierce brute. “You can have them back.”

Shivers travelled down the brute’s back after watching that scene. He was trembling and shaking like a leaf. The thought that his two brothers would be killed by the youth before they could even fight back never even crossed his mind. After all, they were both ninth level sage realm! This young man was a teenager! How could a person as young as him be so powerful? The vicious bullies immediately realized that they’d barked up the wrong tree. Their killing intent vanished almost instantaneously.

Chapter 1083: Long Xiaoxuan Attacks

The innkeeper who witnessed this from the foot of a wall also shook incessantly. The group of thugs under Third Master Jing were arrogant and domineering enough already, but they never imagined that they would meet someone even fiercer than they. This young man looked so gentle and quiet, so why did his methods contrast so much with his appearance?

The innkeeper suddenly felt faint, as if the world had just fallen on his head. He knew he was ruined this time because Third Master Jing’s men were killed inside his inn. Even if he had nothing to do with it, Third Master Jing would levy blame for his loss and subject the innkeeper to his wrath all the same. The innkeeper’s legs weakened as strength departed his body. He could clearly sense the looming catastrophe. Murdering the third master’s men was like stabbing the heavens themselves. The man’s fury could cause the entire Frostmoon City to tremble, much less his tiny, insignificant inn.

He completely lost any intention of watching the fight unfold any further and half crawled away from the scene. He ran to the entrance of the inn and gathered all the inn’s attendants. “Take your wages, disperse and leave Frostmoon City as quickly as you can. Quickly, quickly!”

The pale-looking innkeeper didn’t even bother verifying the amount of money he gave out to his attendants. He issued the wages haphazardly, packed some clothes for himself and escaped like the wind.

Seeing that their boss had left in such a hurry, every attendant in the inn knew that the sky was about to fall on their heads. They too scampered with deathly pale faces. The entire inn was abandoned, just like that.

…...

“You… you dare kill Third Master Jing’s men?” The brawny man was just as shocked as the now ex-innkeeper. He could hardly believe the sight of his lifeless companions lying motionlessly on the floor.

The cool-faced young man asked expressionlessly, “Who’s Third Master Jing? And why are you all here? If you can’t give me an explanation, then none of you are leaving this place today.”

The brawny man shivered involuntarily. He was a first level emperor realm cultivator and a lot stronger than his two companions, but he still couldn’t escape the horrifying feeling that washed over him when the young man trained his gaze on him.

A bit of regret finally dawned on him. He was regretting his brash actions. Worse still, this young man didn’t seem to be the person he was looking for. This mess was absolutely not worth it if he had provoked the wrong person. After all, how could he not know who Third Master Jing was if he was their target’s accomplice? Also, this cool-faced young man was clearly a maverick. There was no other way to explain why he’d murdered a person in a completely unfamiliar environment without feeling any pressure or hesitation whatsoever. And how did the brute know that? Just look at young man’s face! It was as stiff as a corpse’s!

Humans were such despicable things sometimes. They might not look one in the eye if one bowed and scraped to them, but they would certainly treat one seriously if one attacked them without mercy.

“Friend, Third Master Jing… Third Master Jing is vice sect master of the first division of Moon God Sect in Frostmoon City. That’s why even the lord of Frostmoon City has to give him some face.”

“Moon God Sect?” The young man stared blankly at him for an instant before shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of this sect. Are they very strong?”

The brawny nearly burst into tears. He knew he had run into a real madman this time. After all, a man who dare say that he had never heard of the Moon God Sect before was obviously not an ordinary person. The brute didn’t believe that the young man actually didn’t know of Moon God Sect. Everyone in the human domain knew of the Moon God Sect. The young man must be very confident for some reason, to claim that he didn’t know the sect even though he was currently in their territory.

“Let’s just go at him already, boss. There’s no way we can’t stop him if we jump him together. He killed our brothers, and Frostmoon City is Third Master Jing’s domain, not to mention that the entire Tilted Moon Region is Moon God Sect’s territory. Whatever his background may be, is it really okay to let him behave like this?”

“Yeah, you’re at Frostmoon City right now, boy. I don’t care if you’re a tiger or a dragon, you’re going to have to bow…”

The young man abruptly raised his eyebrows. “What if I refuse?”

“You…”

“You asked for this!” This time the brawny man was completely triggered by the young man’s attitude. He grabbed something and shot a firework into the sky. It was a signal to his companions. His companions in the first division of Moon God Sect would arrive in a short time. In fact, Third Master Jing himself would be arriving soon. When that happens, who cared if this guy had three heads and six arms?

“Boy, if you surrender to us quietly now we can plea for forgiveness on your behalf before Third Master Jing.”

“That’s right. No matter who you are, you’re going to eat shit as long as you’re in Frostmoon City!” These thugs grew confident after they sent out the signal for help. Besides, there were six of them and only one of him. Even if they couldn’t beat the young man, they could at least defend themselves until reinforcements showed up, right? When their main force arrived, this guy was as good as dead!

“How noisy.” The young man’s face darkened as he swept a steely gaze across everyone’s faces. “Since you asked for this, I’ll send you all on your way.”

The brawny man’s expression changed. “Don’t spread out. Take up positions in a formation.” He then yelled at the cool-faced young man. “Stop this foolishness already, young man! Even if you managed to beat us, death is your only option when the main bulk of our branch arrives. We’re not even here for you in the first place! We’re just looking around for a swindler.”

“Swindler? What swindler?” The cool-faced young man asked blankly.

“He’s the guy who swindled Third Master Jing with some fake sky rank spirit herbs.”

This caught the young man slightly off guard. “Is he a guy in his twenties looking for antidote spirit herbs in the spirit herb stores around this place?”

“Huh? You know him? He swindled a Smiling Bodhi from our third master. Are, are you really his accomplice?” The brawny man’s expression changed again.

The cool-faced young man grinned. “In that case, yes. You do have the right person.”

This cool-faced young man was of course Long Xiaoxuan in human form. At the beginning, he was a bit confused by this unexpected intrusion, but now that he learned they were coming for Jiang Chen, a grin began to spread on his face.

“You are his accomplice!” The brawny man’s expression changed drastically.

“What are you planning to do with him after you find him?” Long Xiaoxuan asked calmly despite his situation.

“Hmph! The punishment for lying to our master is death!” One of the thugs hooted.

The brawny man nearly dropped to his knees when he heard this. You meddlesome idiot! Why are you talking tough right now? We need to delay him long enough so our companions arrive. Once they do, we can do whatever we want with him, so why the tough front right now?

The cool-faced young man chuckled and nodded suddenly. “Very good, very good. Since it’s already a death sentence, I may as well do him a favor and add a few more to his name.”

While speaking, the cool-faced young man suddenly moved like a ghost. His figure flashed to and fro, making a thin fog rise. As the fog spread, they seemed like walls that’d sprung out of nowhere to confine these thugs in a terrifying prison.

“Not good! This is an emperor domain!” The brawny man was a first level emperor realm expert himself, so of course he knew of this the particular power. But knowledge was one thing and action another. Despite gathering all of his strength to break through this prison-like domain, he discovered that his efforts were completely futile. The black colored fog was completely impenetrable, as if made of steel.

“Watch out!” This time the brawny man was finally afraid. His life depended on this one instant.

A thug’s skull abruptly cracked horribly. In the next moment, the thug suddenly turned into dust as if some invisible energy had struck his body and blew him away. Everyone was scared out of their wits by this terrible scene.

“Ahhh! Run!” A giant claw abruptly appeared out of nowhere and caught yet another cultivator. The poor bastard didn’t even get to screamed before he was literally pulled away from this plane of existence. He vanished as if he was never there.

One by one the thugs were pulled away…

All six thugs were killed in the blink of an eye.

Long Xiaoxuan’s devour ability could literally devour and digest anything. A peak sage realm and a first level emperor realm cultivator was just the kind of meal he was looking for. When the fog dissipated, the scene returned to the way it was before they came in. No combat traces and not even the two cultivators who’d been disemboweled earlier could be found. Long Xiaoxuan dusted off his hands and went back inside as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, Emperor Peerless was slowly awakening from his slumber. When he saw the scene before him, he asked in puzzlement, “Where am I, brother?”

“You literally just came back from a walk with death, brother.” Jiang Chen relayed everything that happened.

Emperor Peerless was completely stunned. “Little sister Qing… poisoned me and Ah Yun? She…”

“What can you do? You’re so charming that Miss Qing is willing to take your life and her own just to be with you.” Jiang Chen joked.

“Ai, brother. It’s my fault for being careless this time. How is Ah Yun? Is my wife safe?”

“It’s inconvenient for me to treat your wife, brother, but don’t worry, the antidote has already been prepared. You may cure her yourself… and Miss Qing too, if you wish. I won’t interfere with your decision.” It wasn’t his place to interfere with Emperor Peerless’ family business.

“I’ll go save my wife first.”

Jiang Chen was passing the antidote to Emperor Peerless when his ears suddenly twitched. He smiled wryly. “It looks like someone just threw me into a lot of trouble.”

Emperor Peerless obviously detected some commotion himself. His face turned frosty. “Why are there so many cultivators heading our way? What is this place?”

“We are in an inn right now. Come, let us head out and take a look.”

By now, several hundred experts had gathered around their rooms. They all wore the same attire and they were led by two powerful cultivators. Surprisingly, the two were both high level emperor realm experts. One of them was eighth level emperor realm, and the other seventh level emperor realm.

“This should be the place, senior brother Cai.” The seventh level emperor realm expert dressed in silver robes reported.

“Hmm? Where are they?” The eighth level emperor realm expert was confused. “Third Master Jing ordered them to come here, so why have they left without a word?”

Chapter 1084: Things Have Gone Out Of Control

“Old Brother Mo, who are these men?” Jiang Chen asked with a glance out the window. He guessed that they likely had something to do with Third Master Jing.

“Look at their clothes. They should be from Moon God Sect’s first division.” Emperor Peerless seemed indifferent. He obviously didn’t hold these men in high regard.

“The first division? By the way, do you know of a man with the surname of Jing? He’s apparently the number one tyrant in this city.”

“Jing? Third Master Jing?” The emperor nodded. “Yes, there’s someone like that here. He’s the vice head of the first division. The sect master of the division doesn’t really handle mundane affairs, so Third Master Jing actually holds the power in the division. He’s only at seventh level emperor realm, but his family holds a very high position in the sect. His cousin is apparently one of the strongest geniuses in the sect, and many of the elders in his family are also very powerful sect elders as well. This is the reason why Third Master Jing is able to throw his weight around like this. Even the city lord has to show him face.”

Jiang Chen finally understand why the third master was so arrogant and full of himself. It was only natural considering the reputation of his family and his position within the division.

“Little brother, what’s wrong? Did he offend you?” Emperor Peerless burst into laughter. “You sure are a huge troublemaker.”

Jiang Chen shrugged and smiled wryly. “Old brother, you’ve truly wronged me here. You should be calling him the real troublemaker instead.”

He described what went on in the Three River Street, and put heavy emphasis on what happened during the Smiling Bodhi trade. The emperor’s expressions grew darker and darker as he listened on. By the end of it all, he raised his hands in a cupped fist salute.

“Little brother, I’ve truly wronged you. This is all because you were trying to save my life! This decrepit old man is ashamed of dragging you into trouble. Brother, my gratitude knows no bounds. I truly owe you too much. Don’t worry, not even the Jing clan ancestors would dare be arrogant before me, let alone someone as insignificant as Third Master Jing!”

The emperor wasn’t tooting his own horn. Even the most powerful Jing clan elder was only ninth level emperor realm. Someone not a great emperor wouldn’t even have the right to speak to him. They could only address themselves as his junior.

“Old brother, don’t show up until Third Master Jing comes so that you can regain some energy. Let me handle them first.”

Even though the poison didn’t leave any lingering effects, the emperor still needed some time to recuperate. He had to be at his top form so that he could root out Madame Yun’s poison later.

“Little brother, don’t overdo it or erupt in open hostilities with them. Wait for me.” Emperor Peerless advised.

Jiang Chen laughed in response. “Don’t worry.” He rushed downstairs in the blink of an eye.

Upon exiting the door, Long Xiaoxuan greeted him with an odd smile. “There were a few who came to stir up trouble just now. I’ve already taken care of them.”

“I knew you weren’t someone to be trifled with.” Jiang Chen had heard the commotion downstairs, but he couldn’t afford to pay any attention to it because he was trying to save the emperor.

“Hehe. You can’t blame the rest of this on me. They were here for you. I was feeling nice and took the trash out for you."

“What did they say?” Jiang Chen frowned.

“They said you cheated some sort of third master with fake sky rank herbs. Is that true?”

Jiang Chen flew into a rage. The sky rank herbs that he gave them were genuine! Otherwise, somebody in the crowd would’ve long since pointed it out. Moreover, how could someone as sharp as Third Master Jing fail to take notice if it was a fake? This was clearly slander.

He laughed due to the ridiculousness of the situation. Jing Third, how kind of you to show up at my doorstep so I can save the trouble of kicking your door down. Are two sky rank herbs and 200 million saint spirit stones still not enough for you?

Jiang Chen had seen greedier people, but he was completely enraged by Jing Third’s shamelessness. He didn’t want to stir up any trouble in Frostmoon City, but that didn’t mean he was afraid of trouble. Third Master Jing had simply gone too far.

“Brother Long, I only have two words to give you.”

“What two words?” Long Xiaoxuan was taken by surprise.

“Well done!” Jiang Chen lauded coldly. “Does that bastard really think I’m afraid of him? How dare he make an attempt on my life after extorting me? Fake sky rank spirit herbs? Even if they were fake, he can only blame himself for being blind!”

“Does that mean you gave him the real thing?” Long Xiaoxuan furrowed his brows.

“Of course! How could I give him fakes when I desperately needed the Smiling Bodhi to save Old Brother Mo?” Jiang Chen was burning with rage. “Let’s go! I want to see for myself how arrogant he can be!”

Long Xiaoxuan chuckled playfully. After following Jiang Chen for so long, he was finally getting over his fear of the outside world. Now that the fear was gone, the true dragon bloodline’s unfearing nature was beginning to take shape. Now, the dragon only feared that there wasn’t enough chaos in the world. Why would he stop Jiang Chen? It was already a courtesy that he wasn’t adding oil to the fire.

Trouble? Who in the world would be afraid of something like that?

“Senior brother Cai, someone has come out.” the seventh level emperor suddenly announced.

The eighth level emperor realm expert glanced upwards and saw two young men descending the flight of stairs. Somebody with good eyesight immediately recognized Jiang Chen.

“Lord Cai, it is he… it is he! The older one is the bastard who traded with the third master! He’s the one who scammed the third master with the fake sky rank spirit herbs!” There had been a few servants around when the trade had happened and they recognized Jiang Chen.

Lord Cai was feeling a little suspicious. Where were the men who first released the signal for reinforcements? Why were they nowhere to be seen? There didn’t even seem to be signs of a battle.

“Go get the innkeeper and his attendants,” he quietly ordered. An eighth level emperor was a lot more prudent afterall.

Someone immediately went searching for the innkeeper, but soon returned with his face aghast. “Lord Cai, s-something’s… not right. The innkeeper and his assistants are gone. There’s no one else in this inn!”

“Where else could he have gone? Did he abandon his business?” Lord Cai was stunned, but he quickly recalled that there was nobody at the reception either when he first entered the premises. He’d found it a little strange at first, but he paid it no heed. But now, this sent a chill down his spine. What exactly happened? Why was everyone gone?

“Brother Cai, c-could they have… killed everyone?” The seventh level emperor realm expert asked with a complicated tone and a fearful expression.

Shock also dawned on Lord Cai’s face at the sound of this. “Let’s ask them.”

Side by side, the two men approached Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan.

Jiang Chen glared at these two emperor realm experts frostily. “Frostmoon City is truly restless. If I remember correctly, this should be an inn and not private property right? Are the bunch of you trying to flatten the entire inn?”

Lord Cai snorted coldly. “Friend, stop trying to mince words. I only have one question for you. Where are those men?”

“What men?” Jiang Chen naturally wouldn’t admit to anything.

“Hmph! You dare take action but not own up to your crimes? What kind of man are you?!” Lord Cai’s voice was extremely cold. “Don’t even think about talking your way out of this. I won’t let you leave until we get to the bottom of this!”

Jiang Chen laughed angrily. “Tsk tsk! Such arrogance! Are you perhaps the sect master of Moon God Sect or some sort of great emperor in the Upper Eight Regions?”

“The third master has arrived!” somebody announced while they were in the middle of their conversation.

Lord Cai was a bit relieved after hearing that the third master was here. Things would be easier to handle with him around. His words carried more weight as he was head of the first division.

“Third Master.”

“Third Master, you’ve come.” They were very respectful to the third master even though they were at seventh level and eighth level emperor realm respectively. They didn’t dare to put on any kind of airs. Their cultivation was no worse than his, but his family name was much more powerful than them.

Third Master Jing glared at Jiang Chen furiously. “Brat, I’ve been in this city for so many years, but you are the first person who’s ever tried to scam me. How dare you deceive me with two fake sky rank spirit herbs?!”

Jiang Chen laughed coldly. This man was clearly trying to get another sum of wealth from him again with this venomous slander. Since all pretense of cordiality was already thrown to the wind, he no longer had any need to explain himself.

“Brat! Are you mute or are you deaf? Didn’t you hear the third master Speak?” Lord Cai immediately yelled.

Jiang Chem smiled contemptuously. “Third Master Jing, I heard that you’re the vice head of Moon God Sect’s first division? Hmm, I really don’t understand why a first rank sect would choose a good-for-nothing like you for that task. Fake sky rank spirit herbs? Are you blind or are you plain idiotic? Wouldn’t you have immediately noticed if they were fake? Even I would feel ashamed if I were in your shoes!”

“Such insolence! How dare you speak to the third master in such a manner?!”

“Third master, this brat is showing no respect for our first division!”

“Brothers! Dice him into pieces! We shall make him pay for his insults!”

The smile on Third Master Jing’s face instantly disappeared. He raised his hands to stop his subordinates from causing any further trouble and fixed a sinister glare on Jiang Chen. “Brat, you have a very sharp tongue. But not even a thousand tongues can save you after you’ve provoked me. I will not fall for your antics. Hand over all of your valuables and I just might forgive you.”

This was clear daylight robbery now.

Chapter 1085: From Arrogance to Humility

Jiang Chen knew that the excessive wealth he’d displayed earlier had attracted problems in the end. If a three-year-old child walked out in the open with a pile of gold, he would naturally draw unwanted attention. Sky rank spirit herbs were both priceless and rare. Even emperor realm cultivators felt their allure. A single such herb wasn’t something able to be purchased with stones alone. Decades could go by without sky rank spirit herbs appearing on the market, unless one was blind enough to put one up for sale without knowing it.

Jiang Chen had made an enormous mistake in showing possession of two sky rank spirit herbs. What was more, a swindler like Third Master Jing had marked him. Realizing what he was in for, the young man’s expression flared with contempt. “At the end of the day Jing Third, you’re trying to bleed the rest of my money out of me. If you were trying to openly rob me, I’d retain some respect for your bluntness and honesty. Making up such an awful excuse, though… I guess your family name is quite appropriate for your actions.”

The crowd was confused. What did Third Master Jing’s surname have to do with anything? Was there something wrong with it?

The man he was speaking to furrowed his brow. “What’re you getting at, kid?”

“What I’m getting at?” Jiang Chen smiled matter-of-factly. “Isn’t it obvious? Your family name is Jing. A character formed with two perpendicular ‘two’s, reflecting the fact that you can’t put two and two together. You’re too scatterbrained to think straight, you see.”

Third Master Jing’s face darkened at those words. The first division’s personnel all looked on with horror and awe. The young man before them was as good as dead. His courage was certainly astounding. Not everyone had the guts to make fun of the third master’s surname. That was tantamount to suicide!

It was widely known that Third Master Jing took great pride in his surname and family. The Jing clan’s prominence in the Moon God Sect was the key to why such a man was in charge of the first division. Making light of it by a stranger was absolutely intolerable for him. As expected, Third Master Jing’s expression instantly accumulated a thin layer of frost.

“Do you know what a fool you are, kid?” The third master smiled out of excessive anger. “If you wanted to provoke me, well, congrats! However, I assure you that you’ll need to pay a heavy price. I tell you now that not only are you making an enemy of me nor the first division alone. No, you have opened hostilities with my entire clan, and the whole of the Moon God Sect!” Third Master Jing was certainly adept at escalating conflicts. In his mind, he represented the authority of the Moon God Sect.

Jiang Chen would have none of it. “So what?” he replied calmly.

So what? Everyone paused at that. Was there a need for ‘so what’? Angering the Moon God Sect in the Tilted Moon Region spelled certain doom. What came next after that?

“So… I’d recommend you look forward to better luck in your next life, heh.” With a vicious laugh, Third Master Jing waved. “Take them in, dead or alive!”

“Yes, sir.” The expert surnamed Cai and the seventh level emperor realm expert both bowed.

As they were about to move, an even-handed laugh could be heard from upstairs. A serene voice echoed downwards. “If I remember correctly, the strongest member of the Jing clan serves only as an elder in the Moon God Sect, no? Jing Third, please elucidate to this great emperor if you will, where your courage comes from?”

Third Master Jing hadn’t expected someone else to be nearby. He blurted out, without thinking, “Who the hell are you, eh? The Moon God Sect’s business…”

Suddenly, he realized that something was off. He paused mid-sentence to mull things over. What had he heard just now? What had the other person called himself? ‘This great emperor’?

What in tarnation? Jing Third’s eyebrows waggled, and his heart skipped a beat. He was terrified! The man who’d spoken to him he was… a great emperor?

Which great emperor was upstairs, exactly?

Third Master Jing had plenty of social experience, but all of it was useless before an expert as strong as that. However, he was also the leader of a division. Though he felt a sliver of panic, he didn’t descend into total hysteria. Can it be that kid’s ruse? There aren’t many great emperors in the world. Even if it was possible that one was here, there’s no way he would’ve made that kid go find a Smiling Bodhi alone, much less show off a bunch of sky rank spirit herbs. A great emperor cultivator has more wisdom than that!

His mind made up, Jing Ole Third smirked in half-disbelief. “Friend, why don’t you come down and see where my courage comes from?”

He wanted to bait the other party out. Seeing them in person would reveal whether they were a great emperor or not. A slightly mocking smile hung on Jiang Chen’s face. The young lord of Veluriyam Capital shook his head. He saw straight through the trick. Jing Third wasn’t going to be convinced until he saw for himself how wrong he was!

“Then I shall,” Emperor Peerless laughed forbiddingly. The emperor’s figure landed in front of Jing Third the next instant before the sound of the latter’s voice had yet disappeared.

A great emperor’s pressure filled the space, smashing into countless bystanders. All the cultivators around Third Master Jing were pushed back by an invisible force, reeling in every direction. None of them could keep a stable footing.

Not good!

The cultivator Cai and the other seventh level, silver-robed man exchanged a look, then rushed forward to attempt to stop Emperor Peerless’ advance.

The corner of the emperor’s mouth twitched. “Do you expect to stop me? With just the two of you?”

Each step he took forward was filled with insurmountable pressure. Both the high-level emperor realm cultivators felt the onslaught of a veritable mountain. Its weight pressed against their chests, and their breathing became more and more ragged.

“For those who stand in my way… the sentence is death!” Emperor Peerless declared, his tone merciless.

The sentence was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. It caused the two emperor realm cultivators to shake, then collapse to the side while coughing up blood. Initially enjoying the duo’s bodily protection, Third Master Jing did not feel much of the pressure at first. But after their collapse, the pressure on them was entirely transferred to him. Almost in the very next instant, his consciousness was thoroughly crushed. He began to shake uncontrollably, his eyes belying an indescribable fear.

He hadn’t expected a thoughtless statement to draw out a great emperor! The aura that the old man exerted did not belong to just any great emperor, but rather the strongest among them. Thankfully for him, the emperor had immense self-control. In the next moment, all of the pressure withdrew right away. Feeling the burden on his body lighten up, Third Master Jing staggered and almost fell. His head and face were covered with cold sweat, and his look took on extraordinary honesty and meekness. In fact, his entire expression was now filled with fear and wariness.

“S-senior… I… I have been… very rude, yes, very rude indeed.” The vermin was at least, a man who knew when to yield. The presence of a great emperor meant that he was in enormous trouble if he didn’t lower his posture.

Emperor Peerless remained expressionless. “I didn’t want to come at first, you know. I was just curious where your courage comes from. You asked me so nicely to come down to see! Tell me, where is it? I haven’t seen a clue.”

Third Master Jing stuttered. He was on the verge of crying. “I… I… that was just a joke. Senior, please, be kind with me. You’re too great of a man, to, er, stoop to my level, right?”

“Too great to stoop to your level?” Emperor Peerless nodded. “I suppose I am. Oh, what did you say just now? Did you say that my little brother here gave you a fake sky rank spirit herb, hmm?”

“No…. not at all. Maybe my subordinates made a mistake. They’re rather incompetent, you understand. I will investigate when I return!” The third master made a vehement denial.

“Don’t investigate when you return! Investigate now. Take out the supposed spirit herb. I won’t make that kind of mistake, I assure you.” The emperor stretched out his right hand.

“No, really, senior. You really don’t have to. I’ll be on, on, on my way now? We’ll leave you in peace, senior.” Even if Third Master Jing had ten more galls, he wouldn’t have had enough gall to misbehave any more. As he spoke, he looked urgently at his underlings. He wanted to depart as quickly as possible.

“Leave? Who told you to leave?” Emperor Peerless’ face darkened.

The emperor’s change of demeanor froze the third master in his steps. He offered a placatory smile, his expression immensely bitter. “Senior, I have made a mistake today. Really, please forgive your junior for this.”

“You’re going to arbitrate right and wrong with a single word? You’re not playing with me, are you?” The emperor would have none of it. “Take out the spirit herb and let me see.”

Third Master Jing’s face was as sour as a lemon. “I didn’t bring the spirit herb. Really, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t bring it? Why are you even here, hmm? What gives you the right to openly accuse my brother without evidence? Where does your courage come from?” Emperor Peerless’ voice became frosty.

The third master was on the verge of tears. He gave himself a resounding slap on the face. “I’m so sorry, senior, it’s all my fault! My eyes were obscured by greed. I… I shouldn’t have smeared your friend. For the sake of the Moon God Sect, senior, please don’t be too harsh on me.”

“Don’t be too harsh on you?” Emperor Peerless snickered. “Do you mean that I should just happily let you go? After you traded a single Smiling Bodhi for two sky rank spirit herbs, two earth rank spirit herbs, and two hundred million saint spirit stones? Does that sound like a fair deal to you?”

Third Master Jing’s heart sank. Countless complaints rose to the top of his heart. He felt a pang of regret. He’d bitten off more than he could chew this time. Had there really been a need to reap a second time after the first batch of insane profit? Now, he was going to have a hard time keeping his current winnings, much less make more!

Still, Third Master Jing was a flexible person. He immediately called to his subordinates, “What are you guys doing standing around here, huh? Go, get the things that our respected senior here wants right away!”

Emperor Peerless found it hard to make an issue out of the third master’s behavior. The other man was being far too compliant. Truthfully, he’d put himself forward in order to make a bigger fuss of things. If Third Master Jing had acted with arrogance, he wouldn’t have minded killing the man on the spot. The Moon God Sect wouldn’t be in a position to dispute him for it. After all, the third master was in the wrong the entire time. The sect would have only been able to absorb the blow silently.

But the third master trimmed his sails to the wind, and did so with no hesitation whatsoever. Emperor Peerless was the one to be put in an odd position. The emperor glanced at Jiang Chen for his opinion. The young man considered for a moment, then decided to respect the grand scheme of things. Third Master Jing observed the interaction in secret. That the emperor sought the youth’s perspective was not at all lost on him. His heart pounded with distress and bewilderment. He’d angered someone whom a great emperor realm cultivator deferred to! Who… was that young man, really?

Chapter 1086: Brother Long Grows Increasingly Conceited

Third Master Jing of Frostmoon City had always been a ruthless person, even to himself. The moment he saw that the situation wasn’t right, he took quick steps towards Jiang Chen and apologized without hesitation. “Friend Shao, I apologize for offending you. Please forgive me for being blind to who you are.”

If Jiang Chen hadn’t had to consider the bigger picture, he wouldn’t have given a damn about Third Master Jing’s apology. Moreover, the third master was formidable because he could submit to circumstances if necessary. If one day he had the upper hand, he could turn against Jiang Chen just as easily. The best way to deal with people like him was to kill him and end all one’s troubles once and for all.

However, Jiang Chen had business in Frostmoon City, so it might not be wise to fall out completely with a local head gangster. In fact, this seemed like a good opportunity to check if he had any useful information. After all, Third Master Jing was the vice head of Moon God Sect’s first division, wasn’t he? And so Jiang Chen smiled. “Third Master Jing, there is a good saying that goes ‘no discord, no concord’. I’m sure that we will both be pleased if the discord between you and me can turn into a friendly relationship, wouldn’t you agree?”

Although Third Master Jing found it strange that Jiang Chen’s tone was more amiable than expected, he grabbed onto the extended olive branch and smiled. “I absolutely do. I admit that I can be a bit of a bastard sometimes, but you should also know that Frostmoon City can be so weak. It makes doing business difficult unless you’re forceful. Anyways, I have absolutely no reason not to become friends with you seeing how magnanimous you are, friend Shao.”

The atmosphere actually turned cheerful and lively as they chatted. They didn’t look at all like two sworn enemies who were about to fight each other to the death a moment ago. This outcome caused the corner of Long Xiaoxuan’s mouth to droop downwards repeatedly. This wasn’t fun. He was hoping to fight another round, but his wish was obviously not going to come true.

Not long after, Third Master Jing’s subordinates brought Jiang Chen’s spirit herbs and two hundred million saint spirit stones over. He personally placed the goods in Jiang Chen’s hands. “No discord, no concord, so please accept the Smiling Bodhi I traded you earlier as a gift. As for these goods, I cannot possibly accept them since the transaction is now null, so please take them back, Sir Shao.”

Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate to retrieve the two sky rank spirit herbs. “It’s true that I have urgent need of the Smiling Bodhi. These two hundred million saint spirit stones and two earth rank spirit herbs are about equal in value to a Smiling Bodhi, so you should keep them, Third Master Jing. Now we can meet comfortably with each other in the future without feeling the pain of our losses.”

Third Master Jing gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s wonderful!”

And so a conflict came to an unexpected end just like that. Both parties wisely didn’t mention the cultivators who went missing earlier, as if they’d never existed in the first place. Now that the atmosphere had turned amiable and friendly, Third Master Jing finally took his leave and cordially invited Jiang Chen and his friends to visit him at the first division.

As Long Xiaoxuan watched Third Master Jing departing with his men, he curled his lips into a sneer. “Hypocrite, what a hypocrite! Had he stayed any longer I might have thrown up on the floor.”

The scene earlier was very wearing on Long Xiaoxuan’s nerves. Jiang Chen smiled. “He’s a formidable bastard who can throw or take a punch alright. Oh right, brother Long, this is Emperor Peerless. He is my sworn older brother. Old Brother Mo, this is my younger brother, Long Xiaoxuan.”

Emperor Peerless hadn’t seen Long Xiaoxuan earlier, so he found the young man’s sudden appearance a bit strange. Naturally, Jiang Chen had to make the necessary introductions. The emperor didn’t ask how Long Xiaoxuan came to be though. He guessed that Long Xiaoxuan must’ve been in Frostmoon City since the beginning.

Long Xiaoxuan cast a glance at Emperor Peerless and struck a cocky tone. “Old Brother Mo, you’re pretty strong, aren’t you? Very impressive.”

The great emperor smiled. “As I thought, the brothers of my brother are all extraordinary. Little brother Long looks very young, but the depth of your cultivation is incredibly impressive. Also, if I’m not mistaken, little brother Long possesses great qi and blood. You must be a cultivator with a powerful bloodline. Cultivators like you normally possess great martial dao talent.”

Long Xiaoxuan was a true dragon, so of course his qi and blood were incredibly rich. Although the young man had hidden them well, a great emperor’s insight wasn’t to be underestimated.

The dragon withdrew his conceit when he saw how Emperor Peerless had seen through him with a single glance. Old Brother Mo’s answer made him realize that the great emperor was truly powerful, and Long Xiaoxuan wasn’t so prideful that he couldn’t acknowledge a true expert. He knew that he was still a long ways away from becoming as strong as this Old Brother Mo, even though he was a true dragon who had reached emperor realm. There was no way he could beat the great emperor in a straight fight, and the only thing he could do was to run away.

“Old Brother Mo, you should head in and save your wife. Brother Long and I will ensure that you’re not disturbed.”

It wasn’t the time to stand on ceremony, so Emperor Peerless answered. “Alright. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

Jiang Chen carefully went over the curing method and healing procedure until the emperor was sure that he hadn’t missed anything. Finally, the great emperor went upstairs to cure his wife’s poison.

After Emperor Peerless had gone upstairs, Jiang Chen asked the dragon, “Brother Long, please look after them for a moment. I need to check outside. Why hasn’t the innkeeper and attendants shown up despite such a large commotion?”

Jiang Chen didn’t care about the innkeeper or the attendants. He was worried for his spirit beast cub. After all, he did put it in the inn’s care. When he headed out and took a spin around the inn, Jiang Chen was flabbergasted by his discovery. There was no one inside the inn except them, and everyone from the innkeeper to attendants to guests had fled the scene.

Jiang Chen wasn’t sure how to react, but he did figure out why they’d fled immediately.

“This Third Master Jing is rather infamous. It seems his presence has frightened off the innkeeper and the attendants.”

Thankfully, the spirit beast cub was still right where he deposited it last time; the spirit beast care area. When the spirit beast cub saw Jiang Chen walking towards it, it jumped into his lap with an aggrieved look and let out a plainful whine. It seemed to be complaining that Jiang Chen was heartless or something.

Jiang Chen was amused by its reactions. He petted the cub before smiling, “I’m just protecting you, little fella. If I were to bring you with me, Brother Long is certain to scare you.”

Seeing as there were no one left inside the inn, there was no point in leaving the cub behind in this area. He had no choice but to take it back to his room. When Long Xiaoxuan saw the spirit beast cub, his eyes lit up. “Is that the descendant of the Astral White Tiger you mentioned?”

“Brother Long, I know that dragons and tigers are incompatible with each other, but it is just a cub right now. You don’t have to show that much animosity, do you?”

Long Xiaoxuan let out an odd laugh. “How did you come to that conclusion? I just want to know if it really has the Astral White Tiger’s bloodline. If it did, then it’ll be quite interesting.”

“Interesting how?” Jiang Chen said warily.

“When it grows up, I’ll have a true opponent I can spar with anytime I want,” Long Xiaoxuan said proudly. “Once my inherited memories and bloodline powers have completely awakened, even you will be outshone by me, young master Chen. I’ll feel lonely if I can’t find a worthy opponent after I’m at the top.”

Jiang Chen was very amused. “Brother Long, is it just me, or have you gotten a lot more self absorbed since the last time you appeared? Have you finally awakened the narcissistic side of a dragon from your inherited memories?”

True dragons had always been prideful and narcissistic race. It was their unique racial characteristic since ancient times. A dragon was both prideful and very conceited. There were never enough ways for them to show off themselves. Jiang Chen had started noticing the signs from Long Xiaoxuan’s recent behavior. He couldn’t help but lament, to think that that pure Long Xiaoxuan who felt shy at the sight of a mere stranger would change so quickly!

Long Xiaoxuan wasn’t ashamed of his attitude though. “Please watch your words, young master Chen. This isn’t narcissism, this is just the truth. I am confident that the strength of true dragons is absolutely superior to you humans.”

Jiang Chen chuckled. “Don’t you think you’re being a little overconfident? I am absolutely certain there are more celestial emperors within the human race than the dragon race.”

Long Xiaoxuan quibbled. “That’s only because we dragon race are of noble blood and has a slow reproduction cycle. Out of every race in the heavenly planes, the human race is the species with the greatest reproduction rate.”

The human race had two strong points compared to other races. They had strong reproductive and learning capabilities. It was why the human race was able to grow and pass on their knowledge, skill, and more to the next generation despite facing all sorts of calamities. The human race’s strong reproductive ability made them very powerful. Moreover, a human race’s bloodline had great tolerance, inclusiveness, and assimilation. It allowed the human race to exist within the various worlds like evergreen trees.

Moreover, a strong learning ability meant that a lot of experts were raised within the human community. It made sure that a powerful genius could always be born at the right time to save the human race from disaster. There were countless humans who met with life-or-death crises in the worlds, but they were always able to survive like weeds, never failing to grow between the cracks. When the winds and rain were over, they would flourish with life once more. These two strong points were qualities that many races didn’t possess.

Jiang Chen chuckled. “All races have their advantages and disadvantages. All things are created equal.”

Surprisingly, Long Xiaoxuan didn’t refute him this time. He let out a soft sigh. “My inherited memories do contain some information. It seems that humans and dragons shared a close relationship with each other during ancient times, and dragons are willing to interact with the humans.”

Long Xiaoxuan wasn’t talking nonsense. In ancient times, the true dragons and humans didn’t just share a close relationship with each other, they even copulated a lot and gave birth to children of mixed blood. The dragons truly wanted to acquire the human ability to reproduce. A dragon’s reproductive ability was far, far inferior. If the true dragons could reproduce as quickly as the humans, they would’ve dominated the heavenly planes a long time ago.

“Brother Long, you and I are not friends because of our races. We are friends who’ve helped each other in our times of need. Maybe there isn’t another true dragon in Divine Abyss Continent, but that isn’t an issue. As long as you continue to improve your cultivation, it’s only a matter of time before you break through the limits of this plane and ascend to the heavenly planes. When that happens, I am sure that you can find the place where you truly belong.”

Jiang Chen himself was intrigued by Long Xiaoxuan’s predicament though. If Brother Long was the only true dragon in this whole world, then what on earth had brought him into existence? He couldn’t have just popped out of nowhere, could he?

Jiang Chen wasn’t able to come up with an answer no matter what. Moreover, the Divine Abyss Continent was strange in many ways. There were a lot of things that couldn’t be explained through common sense at all. For example, it should be an average secular plane. However, it contained a lot of things that completely exceeded its level

Chapter 1087: To the Satisfaction of All

"Young master Chen, how confident are you that this young cub is actually of the Astral White Tiger bloodline?” Long Xiaoxuan seemed to more concerned than Jiang Chen.

“I’m not completely certain, but the chances are high. However, its bloodline and heritage memories haven’t awakened yet because it’s still a young cub. It might look exactly like a Cloud Devouring Tiger, but it possesses a temperament that a dumb animal like the Cloud Devouring Tiger could never hope to imitate.”

“Mm. This cub does indeed possess an unusual temperament.” Long Xiaoxuan said and suddenly channeled some dragon aura at the cub. The cub immediately switched into a vigilant and alert posture from its original relaxed state. It puffed up its whiskers and glared fiercely at Long Xiaoxuan. It was roaring for battle instead of backing down.

“Little brat, do you or do you not submit before your dragon lord?” Long Xiaoxuan burst into an eccentric cackle.

Jiang Chen knew that Long Xiaoxuan was being spiteful on purpose, but didn’t stop him. He wanted to see how the cub would respond to the dragon aura. A Cloud Devouring Tiger would be trembling with fear by now. The young cub was very small in size, but one could see the ferocity within its round, belligerent eyes. It was staunch and incredibly unyielding. Fortunately, Long Xiaoxuan wasn’t really trying to suppress it.

“Good kid, you have some guts after all! This dragon doesn’t bully young children, so you may bare your fangs at me when you’re older. I want to see if your Astral White Tiger line is stronger or my Eastern True Dragon line is stronger!” Long Xiaoxuan knew better than to bully a child. “Young master Chen, how will you evolve its bloodline? It looks so weak and feeble. Even if it’s of the white tiger bloodline, I don’t think it can ever catch up to me.”

Jiang Chen naturally had his ways. It wasn’t his first time helping others undergo bloodline evolution. Back then, he’d helped the Goldbiter Rats. Emperor Peerless had finished expelling Madame Yun’s poison during their conversation.

“Little brother, you may come up now,” the emperor called out.

Long Xiaoxuan curled his lips. “You should go. I’ll stay here and keep a look out.”

He was still rather cold and aloof like many from the dragon clan. He didn’t dislike Emperor Peerless, but dragons typically took a lot of time to warm up to others. The only human he currently trusted was Jiang Chen. The dragon understood that the emperor was powerful, and that he was Jiang Chen’s sworn brother, but that didn’t mean that Long Xiaoxuan was ready accept him. Especially not when there was a foreign woman in the room too.

Jiang Chen didn’t force Long Xiaoxuan as he knew that this was the nature of the dragon clan. He quickly made his way upstairs.

“Congratulations Old Brother Mo, sister-in-law is doing very well. Her condition is much better than I’d hoped.” Jiang Chen smiled after checking her condition. “She’ll be fine if you’re certain that the poison has been completely removed from her body. The Pinecrane Pill’s potency hasn’t been affected by the Seven Emotions Poison at all. Her lifespan has greatly increased.”

Emperor Peerless and Madame Yun were both aware of this.

“Brother, it’s all thanks to your Pinecrane Pill. You’ve saved your sister-in-law twice!” The emperor sighed. “Ah Yun, what good have I done to deserve a brother as trustworthy as him? Did you know that while we were out, he risked his own life to get us the antidote? We truly owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”

“Brother Zhen, I don’t know where to start thanking you because I’m not good with words. You two are both very loyal and honorable men. Fate must’ve tied both of you together because of this. If there’s anything you might need in the future, just ask. Even if Peerless doesn’t agree to it, I’ll make sure that he will.”

Jiang Chen laughed. “Sister-in-law you over exaggerate. Old Brother Mo would never abandon me in my time of need.”

Emperor Peerless roared with laughter. “That you are correct! However, with my brother’s skill and talent, he will surely surpass me one day! We won’t know who’ll be asking who for help then! Moreover, instead of helping him, my debt only grows deeper and deeper.”

This was just courtesy, of course. Without the emperor’s help, Jiang Chen would never have won Mu Gaoqi’s auction, nor would he be able to save Elder Yun Nie, let alone having powerful experts like the Geng brothers escort them back to Veluriyam Capital.

Third Master Jing would never have had such huge turnaround in attitude either. Of course, these were words Jiang Chen would keep to himself. “Old Brother Mo, Miss Qing is still unconscious. It’s up to you whether you want to rescue her or not.”

The emperor let out a gentle sigh and looked at Madame Yun tenderly. “Ah Yun, Little sister Qing is your junior sister. You should decide.”

Madame Yun sighed gently as she’d already heard about the sequence of events from Emperor Peerless. “Little sister Qing has always been a good sister. We’ve relied heavily on each other ever since we were only three. To think that I knew nothing about her unrequited love for Peerless. It’s my fault for not showing her enough concern. Maybe… this really is too unfair.”

Emperor Peerless immediately interjected. “Ah Yun, how can there be fairness when it comes to love?”

“Peerless, I’ll never be able to rest easy if I don’t save little sister Qing. Surely you won’t blame me if I choose to save her?” Madame Yun let out another gentle sigh.

The emperor shook his head. “Little sister Qing isn’t a bad person. Otherwise, she would never have taken such good care of you.”

“Mm. I’ll save her.” Madame Yun quickly responded.

Emperor Peerless was worried. Madame Yun had just only recuperated from all kinds of ailments, and was in no state to help Miss Qing. If Miss Qing was hell-bent on dying, she might even cause the poison to backfire.

“Ah Yun… your body has yet to fully recover. Expelling this poison is extremely taxing to the body and mind. Why don’t you rest some first?” The emperor glanced at Jiang Chen, signaling him to say a word or two.

Jiang Chen smiled wryly. “Sister-in-law, with the current state of your body, you’ll have little chance of success. Moreover, the poison might even backfire onto you.”

Madame Yun was very trusting of Jiang Chen. “Ah? Then what shall we do?” she panicked.

“The only person suitable for the task… is probably Old Brother Mo.” Jiang Chen responded wryly.

The emperor’s face immediately turned aghast. “Little brother, how is this appropriate? Y-you… you shouldn’t drag me into the mud!”

Jiang Chen was only speaking the truth. If the task was left to Madame Yun, it would surely end in catastrophe, and he was obviously not suitable for the task either. At the end of the day, the best person for the task was Emperor Peerless.

“Old brother, it might be a little inappropriate to put you up to this task, but you are currently the best person for the job. You may seek female pill kings to do it for you, but in this city, there’s likely very few who’ll risk their lives for this. Moreover, there’s only two days left before her time is up. The longer you drag this out, the smaller the chance of success will be.” Jiang Chen was completely honest.

Madame Yun had something to add too. “Peerless, you should save her. You’re the only person who can undo the knot in her heart. She won’t let the poison backfire if you do it.”

Women were emotional beings, but that didn’t mean they were incapable of rational thought. Madame Yun had clearly thought this through from the angle of a woman.

“Fine.” The emperor was a true cultivator. He was not going to act wishy-washy like the common man after hearing Madame Yun’s request.

“Ah Yun, as long as you know how I feel about you, I’m willing to do anything you ask.”

The emperor had successfully purged Miss Qing’s poison four hours later. When she regained consciousness, she first thought that they’d reunited in another world, but was quickly awakened to reality when Madame Yun entered the room.

“You… how are all of you alive? W-why am I alive too?” Her face was full of confusion and distraught.

“Little sister Qing, why do you remain so obsessed with the Seven Emotions Poison after coming back from the gates of hell?” Madame Yun sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had feelings for Peerless as well?”

Miss Qing sighed faintly. “Dear sister, what use would that be? It won’t change the fact that Brother Mo knew you first. You’re right, why would I remain obsessed even though I’ve already been to the gates of hell? Brother Mo, dear sister, whether you wish to beat me up or kill me, do as you wish.”

“You silly girl, why would I kill you after asking Peerless to save you?” Madame Yun sighed gently. “You need only say the word and I’ll have Peerless treat you as how he treats me.”

Miss Qing gently smiled and got on her feet. “Dear sister, you’ve always been muddle-headed, but because of that, you’re blessed with a fool’s luck. Brother Mo is your man, so you should know him better that I do. Do you really think he’s capable of loving two women? He wouldn’t be worthy of my admiration if he was.

“Brother Mo, take good care of Sister Yun.” Miss Qing headed for the exit without looking back.

“Little sister Qing, where are you going?” Madame Yun asked immediately.

“Dear sister, don’t worry about me. I’ve already died once. I won’t do something this foolish ever again.” Miss Qing flashed an elegant smile and slowly made her way downstairs.

Upon exiting the door, she noticed Jiang Chen standing right outside. She glanced at him emotionlessly and walked right past him. However, she suddenly came to a halt. “You were right about something. I really should’ve told him about my feelings. Everything feels much lighter now.”

Her smile was very muted and discreet, but one could clearly see that her infatuation was now replaced by enlightenment and insight. She had fully conquered her inner demons.

Jiang Chen’s thoughts were complex as he watched her leave and disappear from sight. The innkeeper and his assistants had fled, but Jiang Chen and others didn’t move into another inn. The emperor and his wife remained where they were for two more days in order to recuperate. After that, they finally departed for the designated place where they’d agreed to meet Liu Zhen.

Jiang Chen was curious. What trouble could an origin realm cultivator run into at a place like Frostmoon City? How serious was it that he’d trade Radiant Celestial Grass to get help from others? Jiang Chen didn’t want to be a busybody, but it was worth a look since he’d receive a shoot of Radiant Celestial Grass in return for his troubles.

Chapter 1088: Inexhaustible Radiant Celestial Grass

Frostmoon City was a prosperous place and its urban sprawl enormous. Liu Zhen’s meeting place was discrete. It took quite a while for Jiang Chen and the group to find out where it was. On the outside, it looked like a small, run-down tavern. The district it was located in was one of the most chaotic in the city. It took great effort for the young man and the emperor to find where the tavern was located. Its dilapidated appearance prompted the latter to voice his concern.

“Do we have the wrong place, little brother?”

Jiang Chen was a bit suspicious of the establishment as well. He scrutinized it closely before concluding with a half-hearted laugh, “I think it’s right. The address that Liu Zhen gave me matches perfectly.”

“Well, never mind then. Let’s take a look inside.” Emperor Peerless gave a big flourish with his hand. He was at ease regardless of where they were headed. He was in a great mood, the best he’d had in years. Ever since Ah Yun’s injury all those years ago, the emperor had brought her everywhere in search of doctors and treatment. From that point on, he’d devoted all of his thoughts to the treatment of his dao partner’s condition. It had been difficult to maintain any sort of cheer.

Jiang Chen’s appearance also came with the Pinecrane Pill. The pill had improved Madame Yun’s condition and kept the amount of suffering she experienced strictly under control. Furthermore, it repaired to varying degrees many of her vital functions. Most importantly was the newfound knowledge that his partner had a ninety-percent chance of making a full recovery.

For Emperor Peerless, it was a miracle. He had spent many, many years scouring the entirety of the human domain. He had visited countless pill kings and numerous hermit pill emperors. But the only repayment for his efforts had been disappointment; more and more and more of it, until he was overflowing with despair.

In that hour of need, Jiang Chen’s appearance was his lamp in the darkness. How could he not feel galvanized? It was natural for him to be in a good mood now. He was willing to go anywhere now, no matter how dirty or derelict the place. Physical, environmental conditions were the furthest thing from his mind.

If it had been for Liu Zhen’s sake alone, Emperor Peerless would not have come here. The emperor had little interest in actual sky rank spirit herbs, much less the possibility of them. But he knew that Jiang Chen needed Radiant Celestial Grass. The young man had been willing to bid four hundred million on it. That sum represented its importance for him. Because Jiang Chen put so much value on the Grass, the emperor was willing to help.

Though it appeared unassuming from the outside, the tavern’s interior was reasonably decorated. However, it was also obvious that those who drank here were of dubious, mixed origin. Among its patrons, there were wandering cultivators, local snakes, and passer-by merchants. Seeing a man as magnificent as Emperor Peerless walk in, one of the tavern’s staff keenly came forward to receive the company. “Honored guests, please, come in.”

Of the four people in Jiang Chen’s group, none were ordinary enough to lose in a crowd. The waiter marveled silently at the sight. In all the years of the tavern’s operation, never had people like these come to their premises. What day was it today? What kind of wind had blown these great men and women here?

The quartet found a table in an inconspicuous spot. After ordering a casual selection of food and drinks, they quietly partook of the refreshments. As time passed, the appointed hour came and went; yet Liu Zhen did not appear.

“He didn’t trick us, did he?” Long Xiaoxuan furrowed his brow.

“He seemed on the shrewd side, but I don’t think he’s a malicious sort,” Emperor Peerless laughed. “Let’s keep on waiting.”

Madame Yun had heard from her partner about the eventual destination of the excursion, and nodded to back him up. “Yes, let’s have some patience.”

“I wonder how much more of it I’ll need, exactly.” The dragon in human form twisted his mouth.

The better part of an hour went by, but short man Liu Zhen was still nowhere to be found.

Even Jiang Chen couldn’t wait much longer. He glanced towards the emperor. “Seems like that guy isn’t coming, Old Brother Mo.”

Emperor Peerless sighed. “I didn’t expect an origin realm cultivator to trick us.”

“Maybe it wasn’t intentional. Did he encounter something unexpected, perhaps?” Madame Yun was ever the kindly sort, always thinking on the bright side of things and people.

“Still… I think we’re done here.” Jiang Chen made the final call. As they were about to get up and leave, a silhouette appeared in the doorway. It darted inside like a gust of wind, rushing towards Jiang Chen with a burst of joy.

“Young master Shao, save me!” It was a breathless man, terror evident on his face–Liu Zhen.

In the next instant after his entrance, several other burly men flooded into the tavern. Dressed uniformly in black, they carried the same insignia on their shoulders. It was clearly the sign of some gang or another.

“You bastard, let’s see where you’re running to this time!” Their leader was a man with a flat nose. He looked at Liu Zhen with a vicious grin, the very image of a cat playing with its prey. It was a gesture full of derision.

“What does he mean?” Jiang Chen looked, frowning, at the very same man.

“Y-young master Shao,” Liu Zhen gasped for air, still in a panicked fright. “I’ve been laying low the past couple days, but someone found me out in the end. Please, help me out here! I’ll double what I promised earlier.”

Double? The agreement prior had been that if Jiang Chen solved his problems in Frostmoon City, then he would give Jiang Chen a specimen of Radiant Celestial Grass. Did doubling it mean that he was going to give two instead?

“Are you sure?” Jiang Chen smiled in a strange and sudden fashion.

“Of course I am,” Liu Zhen answered hurriedly. “Heaven and earth judge me if I renege.”

Jiang Chen nodded, then turned to Long Xiaoxuan. “Brother Long, didn’t you say that you were bored a few minutes ago? Your time is now. Remember, don’t be too cruel to them. In fact, don’t smash up this tavern either. Let’s take things outside.”

The dragon’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean, ‘don’t be too cruel’?”

“As long as they don’t die, it’s fine.” Jiang Chen waved a hand, signaling that the dragon should rely on his own judgment.

Long Xiaoxuan was very eager indeed, chuckling profusely. His boredom was gone, instantly replaced with impatience and fervor. Slamming a hand on the nearby table, he walked towards the men who were after Liu Zhen.

The hubbub tipped the tavern’s owner off to the ensuing chaos. He made several cursory motions with his hands. “Friends, friends, please give this old man some consideration. Any disagreements can be settled outside, where there’s plenty more room. We’re a small business!”

Long Xiaoxuan did not dignify those words with a response. Instead, his hand blitzed towards the men. One by one, he tossed them outside, grabbing them with only a single hand each time. The five men were launched outside with remarkable accuracy and speed. Everything happened in the span of a breath.

“C’mon, buds, let’s go outside for some fun.” Long Xiaoxuan chuckled. He picked up the flat-nosed man by the nape of his neck. “I have to thank you guys for alleviating my boredom. I really appreciate your cooperation.”

Jiang Chen paid no mind to the commotion outside. Instead, he fixed his eyes directly on Liu Zhen, his expression locked in an unamused half-smile. “You know that we waited for you more than an hour, yes? Are you trying to put us up?”

Liu Zhen’s neck retracted. “No, no!” he vehemently denied. “How could I dream of putting you fine gentlemen up to anything? It’s because of my own weakness, really. Despite how careful I’ve been, I’ve still attracted a bunch of unwanted attention. I would’ve never gotten here without noticing it quickly.”

With a leisurely upward push, Emperor Peerless erected a soundproof barrier. “Alright, the outside won’t hear us speak here. Tell us, what do you need help with? Don’t forget your promise of a doubled reward.”

“Absolutely not, absolutely not,” Liu Zhen nodded a few times in succession. “Here, take what’s rightfully yours. It’s only fair after you helped me out back there.”

Liu Zhen astutely handed over another jade box. It was a simple one, the basic type commonly used to hold spirit herbs of all kinds. Jiang Chen opened the lid a sliver. Another specimen of Radiant Celestial Grass lay inside, larger than both the one at the auction and the one from taking Liu Zhen away from Pillfire City. This was the third one that the origin realm cultivator had given out.

This made the young man quite curious. “Liu Zhen, how many shoots of Radiant Celestial Grass do you have? Why do I feel that you have an inexhaustible amount of them? Were you so lucky to find a whole patch of them?”

Liu Zhen looked rather embarrassed. He gave a flustered smile, but refrained from answering the question directly. “Kind sirs, I have a friend who’s fallen into the hands of the number one underground faction in this here Frostmoon City. They gave me half a year to save him by paying them off. But you know, someone like me… even if I had the money, I doubt I’d get anything I wanted by going anywhere near them. That’s where I need you sirs’ help. I would really appreciate if you could… accompany me when I go to deliver the ransom.”

“The Heavensfall Society?” Emperor Peerless interjected suddenly.

Liu Zhen nodded several times. “Right, right. As expected of a world-wise great emperor, sir.”

“What cultivation level is your friend, hmm? How did he earn the Heavensfall Society’s ire?” The emperor found it a little odd. “They usually don’t concern themselves with people like you, no?”

Liu Zhen exhaled with some exasperation. “It’s a long story. I first made the acquaintance of that friend a few years back. Like me, he is a wandering cultivator. We really hit it off back then, and we’ve saved each other’s hides a few times, so he’s practically a brother. He hadn’t wanted to offend the Heavensfall Society, obviously. He’d gone to them to list a bounty for information. But for whatever reason, they detained him then and there. It was only three days later that I got the news to bring five hundred million saint spirit stones as ransom for him to the Society’s headquarters.”

“That’s why you went to Pillfire City to auction off the spirit herb?” Jiang Chen asked.

“Pillfire City is dangerous as well, but it’s at least somewhat more principled compared to Frostmoon. In Frostmoon City, each faction is as black-hearted as the next. If I were to auction Radiant Celestial Grass on Three River Street, I might not even get to leave in one piece, much less get the money from the sale.”

Liu Zhen’s face was contorted in a ghastly smile. “If not for my friend’s sake, I wouldn’t stay a day longer in a place as awful as Frostmoon City.”

The man’s impression of the city was undoubtedly horrendous. However, origin realm cultivators were middle-lower class existences anywhere in the Upper Eight Regions. In a place where neither the authorities nor the gangsters had scruples to speak of, they had no security whatsoever.

“So, did you get your hands on the five hundred million?” Jiang Chen inquired.

Despair flashed across Liu Zhen’s face. “I only have the four hundred million you bid at the auction, young master Shao, minus the fees taken away by the Temple of Cleansing Fire. I was thinking maybe they’d be alright with another specimen of Radiant Celestial Grass to make up the difference.”

Jiang Chen didn’t know what to say. If the spirit herb reached four hundred million at the auction-house, why was he using another to substitute for only one hundred million? Wasn’t that a huge waste? Did he have more Radiant Celestial Grass than sense?

“Liu Zhen, I’d like to hear the truth from you. How many specimens of Radiant Celestial Grass do you really have? I’ll happily buy you out at a hundred fifty million per shoot.”

The young man kept his gaze honest, as free of desperation as he could muster. As an origin realm cultivator, Liu Zhen was right to be a bit oversensitive. If he showed too much urgency, the other man would likely second-guess his intentions. He didn’t want Liu Zhen to lie because of unnecessary misgivings.

Chapter 1089: Arriving At Heavensfall Society

Liu Zhen hesitated.

He had to admit he was slightly moved by the offer, despite the small fear that still lingered in his mind. It was an instinctual fear of those who were stronger than him and a fear of loss. However, his experience told him that these people were trustworthy characters. At the very least, they were much easier to interact with than the people of Heavensfall Society.

Emperor Peerless continued seriously when he saw that Liu Zhen was still a little apprehensive. “To be honest, you’re not powerful enough to haggle with anyone, but my brother is still willing to transact with you on equal footing. If you cannot recognize his good intentions even now, then I must say that you’re a little blind. If we really wanted to harm you, do you really think you could’ve arrived at Frostmoon City safe and sound? Do you really think my brother couldn’t rob you of your Radiant Celestial Grass anytime he wished to? Also, I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s entirely possible that you’ll be a corpse in the next second if we were to leave you right now.”

Emperor Peerless’ words were direct, but also the stone cold truth. If both parties shared the same level of strength, then Liu Zhen certainly had the right to haggle or even refuse the trade. But right now, he was the one who needed their help, yet he still couldn’t set aside his worries and acted as if Jiang Chen and Emperor Peerless would take advantage of him. His attitude displeased the great emperor.

“Liu Zhen, I may be the only person who’s willing to trade fairly with you, and the price I’m offering is more or less actual market price. Of course, I admit that there are very few sky rank spirit herbs in the market, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s risky for you to possess them. You may as well trade it for spirit stones and be safe, don’t you think?”

Liu Zhen was definitely moved now. The Radiant Celestial Grass was valuable, but he would undoubtedly have to bear a high amount of risk the moment he produced a shoot and tried to exchange it. Literally anyone could try to rob him because he was an origin realm cultivator, not a great emperor. It was nearly impossible for him not to draw any attention.

“Liu Zhen, I have one last thing to say to you. If you’re worried that we might scam you, you can stop worrying about that right now. I swear by my title that we will not scam you after the exchange is complete. Seriously, do you have such a low opinion of my brother?”

Liu Zhen hurriedly shook his head. “Oh no, of course not. I’m not worried about your integrity, and I’m definitely not worried that you might scam me. It’s just…”

“What is it?”

“To be frank, these Radiant Celestial Grass don’t belong to me alone,” Liu Zhen said honestly. “I discovered them with a sworn brother of mine, so he has a right to them too. I’m hesitating because I don’t dare make a decision without hearing his opinion.”

“What cultivation realm is your friend at?” Jiang Chen asked curiously, “Is he a lot stronger than you are? If that’s so, then how did you come to know each other?”

“Oh no, he’s an origin realm cultivator just like me. However, his talents are a little special and he grows at a tremendous rate. He has a high amount of talent, but for some reason he wasn’t recruited into any great sect or factions when he was younger. It’s all pretty unusual.”

“If he’s an origin realm cultivator, then the spirit herb is useless to both of you,” Jiang Chen persuaded.

“I know it’s useless to us, I just… ai. I’m just worried he’ll be unhappy if I make the trade behind his back.” Liu Zhen stuck by the code of brotherhood even though he had a somewhat wretched and cowardly personality. Not just anyone could risk their life to save their friend, or resist the temptation to leave their friend behind and take all of the spirit herbs for themselves. This was especially true considering how risky it was for an origin realm cultivator to travel back and forth between Pillfire City and Frostmoon City.

“Your deep friendship with your friends impresses me greatly. How about this: we will decide what to do with his portion of the Radiant Celestial Grass after we save him. How much do you have in your possession?” Jiang Chen smiled calmly. “I’ll buy any you have. Hmm, the Radiant Celestial Grass is the main ingredient of the Sage Smile Pill. When you ascend to the sage realm in the future, I can gift you a Sage Smile Pill at no cost. It will allow you to ascend a level unconditionally as long as you’re still in the sage realm.”

Liu Zhen’s eyes lit up. This was the most tempting offer yet, and so he nodded. “Alright, we found eighteen shoots back then, and we agreed to split them. I sold one at the auction in order to save him, and I gave you two as your reward for escorting me safely back to Frostmoon City. When we return, I will be gift you one more. Therefore, we’ve theoretically used up four shoots in total. My brother and I will be sharing the losses because we’re both involved in this, so I still have seven shoots to trade you.”

Eighteen shoots of Radiant Celestial Grass! This number absolutely stunned Jiang Chen. These two origin realm cultivators had found eighteen sky rank spirit herbs at once. Just what kind of insane luck was this? Not even a great emperor could be this lucky, right?

Luck was truly was an unpredictable thing, and everybody had their own. One couldn’t be jealous of another’s luck.

“Alright, since you have seven shoots, I’ll give you 1.1 billion saint spirit stones in return.”

The Radiant Celestial Grass was the kind of spirit herb that Jiang Chen would accept as many as possibly, because it was the main ingredient of the Sage Smile Pill and couldn’t be replaced. Therefore, the more there were, the better.

1.1 billion? This was undoubtedly an astronomical number to an origin realm cultivator like Liu Zhen. Heck, even 1.1 billion origin spirit stones would be a ridiculous amount of money to an origin realm wandering cultivator already, but no, the reality was even better than that! 1.1 billion saint spirit stones was the kind of wealth he’d never imagined even in his wildest dreams.

“Alright, you can have all of them. About the Sage Smile Pill…”

“Don’t worry, you will get the Sage Smile Pill. Also, do try to change your friend’s mind, will you? I’ll buy them off his hands at the same price too.”

Liu Zhen nodded. “I will do that. This price is very fair, so I doubt he’ll disagree with me, not to mention that he’s in need of money last I heard of him. He’ll certainly find no better way to trade away these spirit herbs.”

Eighteen shoots of Radiant Celestial Grass! Jiang Chen felt his greed stir just thinking about it.

“Then it is settled. There are a lot of other people here, so we’ll make the trade after we meet up next time. Let’s head out and see what’s going on first.” Long Xiaoxuan hadn’t returned, so Jiang Chen knew that that dragon must be causing trouble again.

After leaving paying for their drinks, Jiang Chen and Emperor Peerless left with Liu Zhen. However, they were dumbstruck by the scene before them. Long Xiaoxuan was waving his hands and making all sorts of noises. Meanwhile, the thugs were running circles in front of the restaurant in only their underwear. The dragon kept calling out, “The last person will have to take off their underwear, you hear!?”

Madame Yun’s normally composed and elegant face blushed red.

Emperor Peerless laughed loudly. “This guy sure knows how to have fun with people.”

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but shake his head too. He walked over. “Brother Long, I was worried that there’ll be flesh and blood all over the place, but tell me, what on earth are you playing at now?”

Long Xiaoxuan answered confidently. “You told me not to kill, didn’t you? But you know that I can’t control my strength, so I did this instead.”

Jiang Chen was speechless. Long Xiaoxuan was changing too quickly. He never thought that an introverted dragon could change so thoroughly in such a short time. Are all dragons born restless or something?

“Whatever. Come on, let’s go.” Jiang Chen could see that these people were about to fall apart from their deathly pale faces alone. It was so bad that even he couldn’t help but pity their plight.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhen was smiling ear to ear at the way Long Xiaoxuan had toyed with his pursuers. Obviously, he had been extremely frustrated when he was pursued by the group, so their misery could only be food for his joy.

“Are we going there now, young master Shao?” Liu Zhen hurriedly ran over to the group and asked carefully after seeing that they weren’t stopping.

“When else but now? Or do you have a time in mind?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.

“Shouldn’t we make some preparations or something?” Liu Zhen looked a little dumbstruck.

“Prepare for what, exactly? Is the Heavensfall Society really powerful?”

Liu Zhen couldn’t help but nod. “They are a local faction and the number one underground power of Frostmoon City. They are not to be underestimated.”

“How do they compare to the first division of Moon God Sect?” Jiang Chen smiled leisurely.

“They’re incomparable to Moon God Sect. After all, Moon God Sect is the ruler of Tilted Moon Region.” Liu Zhen’s answer was extremely fair.

“Then there’s no problem whatsoever. Even Jing Third of the first division has to treat us with full courtesy, so why should we prepare against a mere Heavensfall Society?”

Liu Zhen was completely stunned. He had to think for a moment before he could understand Jiang Chen’s meaning.

Emperor Peerless barked out a laugh and followed behind Jiang Chen. Long Xiaoxuan exclaimed with delighted surprise. “Are we going to fight someone? Who? Where? Is it far away from here?”

Jiang Chen discovered that human language was no longer adequate to describe this battle fiend, so he did the only thing he could do: ignore the dragon.

“There’s not going to be a fight. Brother Long, were you always this much of a battle fiend? Do you feel itchy when you’re not causing trouble?” Jiang Chen said impatiently.

“Stop right there. You are the one person who doesn’t have the right to say that! Compared to you, my ability to cause trouble is nothing at all!” Long Xiaoxuan argued.

Jiang Chen found that he was actually had no response for that. Behind them, Liu Zhen was completely flabbergasted by their playful banter. Up until just now, he had thought that the visit to the Heavensfall Society was a very serious matter. However, the two didn’t seem like they were under any pressure whatsoever. In fact, it looked like they were just taking a stroll down the market.

Liu Zhen felt both surprised and relieved at their confidence. Not long after, they arrived at the entrance of the Heavensfall Society’s headquarters. Heavensfall Society was an underground faction, so they had plenty of eyes everywhere. They got wind that Liu Zhen was coming even before the man himself had arrived at their headquarters. They were surprised to see that Liu Zhen had brought some helpers with him. Moreover, they didn’t look like average cultivators.

Long Xiaoxuan took the lead and offered himself. “Let me call out to them.”

Jiang Chen’s expression changed when he heard this. He tried to stop him, but Long Xiaoxuan didn’t give him the opportunity and charged straight forwards.

Jiang Chen’s expression changed again. This guy’s going to cause trouble again, isn’t he?

“Is there anyone alive in there? Come out and speak with us!” Long Xiaoxuan had fused a tiny bit of dragon roar technique in his voice, so the shout caused the ground itself to tremble. The building looked like it would collapse at any moment.

Emperor Peerless clicked his tongue with wonder and felt even more curious about Long Xiaoxuan.

Chapter 1090: 500 Million Ransom

Even a commoner would fly into a rage after being spoken to like that, let alone the most powerful gang in the city. Underground factions often conducted their businesses without any concern for the law. Compared to the legitimate factions, they were more likely to go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals. Establishing a good public image was not one of their concerns. When it came to solving issues, almost anything was permitted. Legality wasn't an issue and neither was public perception.

Long Xiaoxuan’s words caused a huge uproar within the Heavensfall Society. Armed fighters began to appear in droves.

“Which bastard dares raise a huge fuss on our doorstep?!” The Society was incredibly offended after realized a kid that had barely just weaned had insulted them. They were the undisputed tyrants of Frostmoon City. Not many dared cause strife in front of them. However, that wasn’t the case today. This was the height of capital offense!

Long Xiaoxuan’s expression sank when he heard the word ‘bastard’. He was pure-blooded true dragon! His blood didn’t contain even the tiniest bit of impurity! He had an extreme distaste of the word. A cold glimmer appeared in his eyes as he pounced at the man who’d spoken.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Long Xiaoxuan gifted him eight consecutive slaps on both sides of his cheeks. The man was beaten into a swollen pig before he could even scream in agony.

“Y-you! How dare you beat our men in front of our gates?” The Society members were dumbfounded.

Jiang Chen made his way to the front. “Get me the person in charge,” he commanded nonchalantly. Long Xiaoxuan was attracting a lot of hostility. Jiang Chen didn’t stop the dragon, but this didn’t mean he was fine with a complete fall out with the society.

Long Xiaoxuan was dejected. “I’ve yet to finish taking out my anger!”

“Brother Long, it’s better to practice some restraint as we’re here for business. We’ll need you at your full strength if things turn sour. You should rest for now.”

The Heavensfall Society guards realized that these two young men were of no ordinary background when they heard the relaxed banter. One of them had already left to notify a supervisor. Before long, an even larger group appeared from the base.

An old man with yellow eyebrows was walking at the very front of the group. He seemed extremely furious and was emanating incredible amounts of murderous aura. He was very offended to hear that his man had been beaten up. There were a few others behind him that bore a great amount of presence. They were obviously the senior executives of the Society. The old man stepped to the front and sized up Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan with a ferocious glare.

“You did this?” he asked coldly while staring at them both.

Jiang Chen responded blandly. “And who are you?”

“Hmph! How dare you cause trouble within our grounds when you don’t even know who our great elder is? You must be tired of living!”

“That’s right! How dare you beat up our men? Elder Ke, you need only say the word and we’ll immediately slaughter them!”

The yellow-browed elder made a dismissive gesture to shut them up.

“Young men, name yourselves so that we may know if we can afford to offend you.” Elder Ke’s tone was sinister. They were obviously ready to resort to violence if they were any further offended.

“Elder Ke, my brother over there may have offended you, but the Heavensfall Society isn’t without fault either. We’re here to talk business. Elder Ke, would you rather make money or enemies? Is there a need to continue meaningless fights?”

“Hah! What business?” Elder Ke guffawed with angry laughter. “The Heavensfall Society has done business with plenty of people, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen someone with a gall big enough to beat up our member within our doorstep! Don’t try to change the topic! What business is there to speak of when this matter is yet settled?”

“What’s done is done. What else do you want?” Long Xiaoxuan shrugged in a dismissive manner while smiling at Elder Ke mockingly. This enraged the gang even further.

Elder Ke laughed coldly. “Truly, you are a hero amongst youth. Color me impressed. If this is how you want to do it, then we shall return your hostility in kind.”

Jiang Chen frowned. “Elder Ke, do you really wish to escalate this matter?”

“Brat, even a thousand tongues will not save you from this. I’ll skin you alive today!” Elder Ke was a man who meant his words.

The senior executives behind him immediately surrounded Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan. Almost everyone present had made a move. Their overall cultivation level wasn’t half bad. The weakest among them was at the ninth level sage realm. Many were half step emperors, but there were also a few initial level emperors. Elder Ke however, was a high level emperor.

This wasn’t the complete roster of the gang’s senior executives as their gang leaders had yet to appear. They were only an underground gang, but their strength was already enough to rival many great sects. Long Xiaoxuan didn’t panic. Instead, he was elated when he saw what was happening. He was roaring for a fight!

“Brother Long, do you really yearn for a fight that much?” Jiang Chen was speechless.

Long Xiaoxuan chuckled light-heartedly. “It’s none of your business. You should look to yourself before you talk about others.”

Emperor Peerless had been watching from afar, so he knew that he could no longer remain a bystander. He knew that nobody would be a threat to Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan as long as Elder Ke was restrained. Society members had surrounded them, and Elder Ke was showing signs of joining in. With a flicker of his form, he stared down at Elder Ke.

“They may fight, but you must remain where you are.” The emperor didn’t stop them as he was rather admiring of Long Xiaoxuan’s style.

It was obvious that this was extortion. The gang might not even hand over the prisoner after receiving the ransom. If that was the case, they might as well talk with their fists. If Jiang Chen won the fight, they might even get to take the prisoner away without spending a single spirit stone.

Elder Ke had only just realized that Emperor Peerless was one of Jiang Chen’s accomplices. He was incredibly surprised when he looked at the direction where the emperor came from. It was Liu Zhen! The elder had a rough impression of who the short man was, whereas, he didn’t immediately recognize Emperor Peerless because the latter wasn’t as renowned as the other great emperors due to his wandering nature.

“Halt!” Elder Ke immediately yelled after noticing Liu Zhen.

Jiang Chen smiled mockingly. He was certain that Elder Ke had been shocked by the emperor’s presence. However, Emperor Peerless hadn’t flared his great emperor aura just now. Elder Ke must’ve told his troops to stand down for a different reason. The expression within his eyes wasn’t that of fear, but of discovery.

But Emperor Peerless didn’t point out this fact. It didn’t matter what Elder Ke was up to. His tricks wouldn’t work on the emperor.

Elder Ke pondered for a moment before flashing a sly smile. “Were all of you hired by that short man over there?”

The emperor snorted coldly. He couldn’t be bothered to answer.

“So what if we were?” Jiang Chen replied

Elder Ke laughed slyly. “Does that mean you’re here to redeem that short man’s partner?”

Long Xiaoxuan yelled dejectedly. “Hey! Are we still fighting or not? Why are you so wishy-washy?”

This infuriated the Heavensfall Society greatly, but they had no choice but to swallow their fury as they’d been told to stand down. Their eyes were full of hostility as they glared at Long Xiaoxuan.

“Have you brought the 500 million saint spirit stones?” Elder Ke asked directly.

Jiang Chen signaled at Liu Zhen. The latter immediately ran to him.

“I’ll leave you in charge of the negotiation. He’s Elder Ke of the Heavensfall Society. Don’t worry, just do what you need to do and don’t be intimidated by him.” Jiang Chen advised.

Liu Zhen’s heart was racing, but he somehow managed to suppress his emotions. He knew that this was his only chance. There’d be no second chances if he failed to rescue his brother today.

“Elder Ke, I’ve prepared the 500 million you wanted. However, I want to see him first.” Liu Zhen wasn’t dumb after all.

“You’ll see him after you hand over the money. I’ll be frank, your friend is currently confined within our deepest prisons. Your promise alone isn’t enough for us to let him out.” Elder Ke had his bottom line as well.

Liu Zhen was in a dilemma. He looked at Jiang Chen for help. The latter nodded. “Give it to him.”

Liu Zhen’s hands trembled when he took out 500 million saint spirit stones. He hesitated a moment before handing them over to Elder Ke.

Jiang Chen noted the look of surprise on Elder Ke’s face. He immediately warned. “Elder Ke, You’ve already received the saint spirit stones. We’d better clear things up now so that there won’t be any room for contention. You’d best make sure that these stones are genuine, and that the numbers are correct.”

He’d gained a lot of experience in dealing with these underground gangs after the incident with Third Master Jing. Jiang Chen might have seen through Elder Ke’s plan, but the latter wasn’t depressed. “There’s no problem with the saint spirit stones. Wait here for a moment, I’ll send my men to the deep prisons to get him. A word of warning, I can’t guarantee that he’s still alive after a stint there.”

Liu Zhen immediately turned aghast. Jiang Chen also furrowed his brows. “Elder Ke, do you take me for a fool? Deep prisons? From what I know, the Heavensfall Society is only an underground gang. Can you even represent Frostmoon City? What rights to do you have to build a prison?”

Elder Ke flashed a crafty smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Friend, this is where you’re wrong. Which clan or sect doesn’t have its own hidden prison?”

Jiang Chen was just about respond but the emperor suddenly patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s wait and see for now.”

Jiang Chen was extremely furious, but since the emperor had already spoken, he had no choice but to swallow his anger for now.