Yan Qijun told everyone Ma He"s ident.i.ty, and his face turned extremely unsightly.
The residence of Great Yan"s Crown Prince had three main, nine secondary, and seventy-two auxiliary palaces. Yi An Palace was one of the nine secondary palaces where Yan Qijun normally studied, writing articles, handling letters, doc.u.ments, and other paperwork. As the Chief Eunuch of Yi An Palace, Ma He was considered one of Yan Qijun"s loyal subordinates. But now, he actually followed right next to Yan Xiaoqi. Evidently, he was one of the executioners who bribed Lin Qiuluo to a.s.sa.s.sinate Yan Qijun. So, what did that mean exactly?
With great force, Yan Qijun pressed his palms on the windowsill, which very quickly sunk two inches deep into the wood as he said grumpily, "No matter who is the mastermind behind this, I swear I"ll kill them!" He turned and looked at Zhao Kuo, then said coldly, "How can you don"t know anything about their ident.i.ty?"
Zhao Kuo shook his head, looking a bit helpless. "I serve Great Zhao"s military, and it is a separate ent.i.ty from Zhao Wu Palace." He said with a deep voice, "Zhao Wu Palace is solely controlled by Prime Minister Lin Xiangru and Su Dai, and we, the military, only cooperate with them. It is also by their order that Zhao Kuo is here."
After pondering for a moment, Wu Qi"s face suddenly flickered with a killing intent. "Whatever! Imperial Advisor Xiong, Imperial Advisor He, go down there and capture those people. I want Yan Xiaoqi, Ma He, and all the people around them. I want them alive. Bring them somewhere and interrogate them with torture!"
Zhao Kuo was startled, and he cried hastily, "No you can"t! I"ve brought three Great Zhao"s sinecures with me on this trip, and they are also..." His eyes quickly darted over at Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu, hinting at them that the three sinecures he brought were also Nascent Divinity cultivators.
Wu Qi frowned, then a thought leaped into his mind very quickly. Without hesitation, he took out all of the remaining Drunken Dragon Incense he had, pinched and pressed it to mold it into one round ball that was the size of a toddler"s fist. Then, he gave it to Zhao Kuo together with an antidote pill. After that, he lowered his voice and whispered a few words to Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo"s face fell instantly, and he stared at Wu Qi with an unsightly expression.
What Wu Qi told Zhao Kuo was that when they struck later, if Great Zhao"s sinecures jumped out to interfere, Zhao Kuo would use Drunken Dragon Incense to knock out all three of them. Naturally, Zhao Kuo was not happy, and reluctant to accept Wu Qi"s request. He was the one who brought three Nascent Divinity sinecures here. If anything bad happened to them, he could never answer when he returned. Even in Great Zhao, Nascent Divinity sinecures were strategic forces, and it would be a devastating event even if just one of them was lost, let alone losing all three of them at once!
Wu Qi gave Zhao Kuo a fierce glare. Frowning, he fished out the three green jade rings he looted from Vagabond Qing Yi and handed them to Zhao Kuo, then grinned coldly and said, "These jade rings are immortal items, and they come in a set. Now, I"ll use them in exchange for three Nascent Divinity cultivators... What say you?! Either you help me to bewitch them and let me bring them away, or..."
With a sway of his body, two celestial fiend puppets sprung out from Wu Qi"s body like spirit. They soundlessly came beside Zhao Kuo, one on the left and one on the right, pulled out a sharp sword each, and pressed them against Zhao Kuo"s left and right chest. Wu Qi looked at Zhao Kuo with a charming smile and said with a gentle voice, "You are my sworn brother! For the sake of your brother, I wonder can you, Zhao Kuo, help me with the loss of your life?"
Even as Wu Qi was smiling, the two celestial fiend puppets put some forces into their wrists, which then pushed the swords three inches into Zhao Kuo"s chest. A faint blood-red light shone from two puppets" bodies, as Zhao Kuo"s blood essence was being slowly extracted by the swords. His face flickered, then quickly put up a smile, cupped his fist, and said, "Since this is Elder Brother"s request, and they are just three mere sinecures. So what if I hand them to Elder Brother?"
Zhao Kuo took over the Drunken Dragon Incense and three jade rings, then looked at the two celestial fiend puppets with a wry smile. Wu Qi snorted coldly. Immediately, the bodies of two puppets began to twist and wiggle, slowly transforming into two extraordinarily beautiful girls. Wearing an emotionless face, each of them gave Zhao Kuo"s chest a fierce punch, smas.h.i.+ng right at the wounds that left behind by the swords.
Zhao Kuo howled with pain. He gave Wu Qi a pitiful look, breathed out a long sigh, and said, "Since we are going to capture three sinecures, we might as well get rid of my a.s.sistant! He is Zhao Ta"s loyal servant, and he is here to claim the credit for my hard work." Wu Qi nodded and agreed to Zhao Kuo"s request. After that, Zhao Kuo put on new clothes with a bitter face and tidied up his wounds. Finally, he brought the two celestial fiend puppets and left the tavern.
Then, Wu Qi turned to look at Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu, as the two demon kings grinned coldly. Without hesitation, they transformed into two gusts of demon winds, thrusting out from the window and leaped towards Yan Xiaoqi and the others. It seemed like Yan Xiaoqi, Ma He, Bai Feng, and their companions were about to visit the tavern as well, as when Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu leaped down, the group had just arrived before the entrance.
Upon hearing the noises of fierce wind that came from above, and sensing the strong demonic aura, Bai Feng growled furiously, "What demons dare to create troubles in White Frost City?!" Waving his hand casually, he shot out tens of pale blue sword beams, each measuring roughly ten feet long, piercing through the air and greeting upon Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu.
These sword beams were "Freezing Star Swords", unique weapons crafted by Bai clan"s Heaven Immortal Patriarch, using the ice essence from the deep ocean and ten thousand years old Dark Ice Iron, then refined with the force of stars. They were extremely cold. When any ordinary Human Immortal of Gold Core realm was attacked by it, he would be turned into an ice cube instantly. Those with weaker cultivation base might even be killed by the extremely cold temperature. As the most outstanding descendant of the current generation, Bai Feng was given a total of thirteen Freezing Star Swords. When all of them struck at the same time, they produced a dreadful power.
A cold air spread out whistling. With an incredible speed, they spread and covered a one thousand feet wide area. A thick layer of ice formed on the surface of the ground instantly. All the cultivators in the vicinity shuddered, then quickly fled in search for places to hide. Even those lower stage cultivators having meals in the tavern were screaming and fleeing in a flurry. A few of them were slightly slow, and were touched by the cold air unleashed by Freezing Star Swords. Immediately, they turned into some ice statues.
Shocked cries were heard coming from off in the distance. Vaguely, someone was laughing out loud while shouting, "Seems like some itinerant cultivators are stirring up troubles in White Frost City. Aren"t they courting death?!"
Leaping down, Xiong Wanling snorted coldly. Placing one palm on top of the other, he pressed them downward heavily. An enormous palm shot out whistling, smas.h.i.+ng viciously against the Freezing Star Swords. Bai Feng felt that there was a frightening force that he could never resist come pressing down from above. Unable to remain standing, he fell to his knees. At the same time, all his internal organs were suffering from a tremendous pressure. Blood surged up from his stomach and sprayed out from his mouth, staining the ground before him.
Smashed by Xiong Wanling"s palm attack, the Freezing Star Swords began to produce some cracking noises, and their surfaces were filled with numerous cracks. The cold air was ripped to shreds by the mighty palm attack as well. With his flying swords seriously damaged, Bai Feng, whose fleshly body had already been wounded, felt his vision dimmed as his divine will was severely injured at the same time. Streams of blood shot out from his seven apertures, and he collapsed to the ground with a miserable look. His body twitched and convulsed, losing all his strength to even rise to his feet.
After defeating the Freezing Star Swords, the enormous palm strike continued its way and crashed brutally into the ground.
A loud boom rang out. A ring of strong light that one could see with naked eyes spread out instantly. A vast, irresistible force shook the ground, then crumbled and collapsed a land that was tens of miles in circ.u.mference. Numerous cultivators were rolled up by the shockwave, howling and shrieking as their bodies were thrown backward in the air. Suffering from the incredible impact, some of the weaker cultivators had their bodies ripped and torn into blood and gore instantly, filling the air with a large cloud of blood mist.
He Qianqiu gave a long screech. Opening his mouth wide, he shot out a ma.s.sive shower of green beams, which transformed into a green drizzle that blotted the sky and covered the earth. Amidst the green drizzle, those Bai clan"s cultivators who Bai Feng brought here with him, having a green jade medallion hanging down near their waists which represented their ident.i.ty of White Frost City"s Frost Team, were hit by the illuminating drizzle. Their frail bodies were pierced, riddled with holes in just a blink of an eye. Their Gold Cores were shattered, while their souls burst and disintegrated into wisps of smoke, which quickly dissipated into thin air.
Two demon kings were used to acting in a tyrannous manner in Meng Mountains. They killed when they struck, regardless of where they were, be it White Frost City or the place where a Heaven Immortal Patriarch was born. With just a palm strike from Xiong Wanling, half of White Frost City collapsed. And with one strike from He Qianqiu, over twenty Frost Team"s members were killed, including Bai Feng, the most outstanding descendant of Bai clan"s current generation.
Currently, the people that could still remain standing on the street were Yan Xiaoqi, Ma He, and the other two men and two girls. Their faces were deadly pale, their eyes wide with terror as they kept staring at Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu, who were approaching them from above. They recognized this two Great Yan"s Imperial Advisors, and they knew their ident.i.ties. They even understood that they were Yan Qijun"s personal guards in this trip to Xue Yuan Planet.
Since the two demon kings were here, how about Yan Qijun?
He Qianqiu gave a long screech again. Flinging his sleeve, he shot out a green beam. Unable to resist, Yan Xiaoqi and her companions were caught by the green beam, having their souls, seven apertures, and cultivation base completely sealed. A gust of wind came sweeping by, as all six of them were then shoved into He Qianqiu"s sleeve.
When Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu were about to return to the tavern and regroup with Wu Qi and Yan Qijun, three powerful demonic auras suddenly towered into the sky off in a distance. Three of Great Zhao"s Nascent Divinity sinecures came at top speed from the west. Even as they were approaching, one of them growled, "Are you fellow Daoist Xiong and fellow Daoist He? Come, come, let us get intimate!"
Though he mentioned intimate, the three sinecures, who were also demon beasts, approached them with towering killing intent. While still at a distance of several miles away, the three sinecures waved their hands together, casting out three sword beams which shot towards Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu, producing a loud whistling sound along the way. A sinecure gave a loud roar, then a long flagpole made using bone poked out from above his head suddenly. A huge flag made with human skin was seen waving violently at the end of the flagpole, shrouded in green smoke and raging flame.
It was at this moment that Zhao Kuo dashed out from a collapsed building. There was a long wound on his forehead with blood oozing out endlessly. Waving his hands and accompanied by two beautiful girls, he charged towards the three sinecures. Wisps of green smokes wafted out from his body, filling his surrounding with a sweet aroma. He came before the three sinecures and cried out, "Sinecures, help me! What is going on? Why would the building collapse all of a sudden?!"
The three sinecures pulled Zhao Kuo behind them and formed a protection ring around him. Holding a herbal ball that kept smoking, Zhao Kuo threw it next to their feet.
While Xiong Wanling and He Qianqiu were about to fight them, the three sinecures" bodies swayed a little bit suddenly. In the next moment, they lost all their strength and collapsed to the ground. Losing the person that controlled them, the sword beams and flagpole hovered listlessly midair, no longer looking mighty as before.
Wu Qi gave a loud laugh. Together with Yan Qijun, he flew to the street. An excited smile could be seen on Yan Qijun"s face, his eyes filled with killing intent.
All of a sudden, sharp whistling sounds of objects piercing through the air were heard coming from all directions. Countless sword beams were rus.h.i.+ng toward the center of commotion, as ear-splitting alarms echoed to the clouds.