Chapter 712: A Three Way Match-Up
Not only had Jiang Chen killed his beloved grandson Gong Qi, but the former had also tricked Gong Wuji repeatedly during the past half year. Unintentional or not, the constant vexation had coalesced to the point where it was nearly an internal demon. Gong Wuji was no fool. He would take this opportunity to vent out everything.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Chen laughed with disdain. “Gong Wuji, it seems you have not lost your penchant for boasting. I still remember your insufferable arrogance back at the Regal Pill Palace when you claimed that you didn’t kill anyone, but it was all the same if I wanted to blame you. Isn’t that right? Didn’t you also say something about the strong preying on the weak while demanding my obedient surrender? Later on, when your grandson fell into my hands, what was it that you said? You said that if I touched a single hair of his, you would shatter my mind and leave me in a state of utter despair where I can neither live nor die. Do I remember all of that correctly?”
Words that had once been proudly spoken by Gong Wuji were recited back verbatim in a very similar tone of voice. The bystanders were shocked silly. This was absolute face slapping!
Jiang Chen laughed, and continued talking in that same leisurely tone. “But as you can see, I’m still doing rather well. What can you do to me, hmm?”
Even as enemies, the Great Scarlet Mid Region sects couldn’t help but admire Jiang Chen’s boldness. How was he still able to maintain such an imposing attitude in these circumstances?!
Jiang Chen swept a cold look across the various sect heads of the Great Scarlet Mid Region. “Sect heads of the Thunder Note Hall and Great Roc Sect, you both had a hand in killing my fellow disciples and exterminating the Regal Pill Palace, no?”
The Thunder Note Hall and the Great Roc sect heads were both emperor realm cultivators. But when Jiang Chen’s glacial eyes swept across them, a chill rippled across their hearts. It was as if every secret of theirs had been laid bare. The sensation caused their hair to stand on end. If they weren’t convinced before, they were now absolutely certain that they needed to kill this evil brat then and there, otherwise endless misfortune would snap at their heels in the future. If he was able to invoke such a terrifying sense of peril at mere initial sage realm, it was likely that he’d be able to threaten the fate of their entire sect if he was allowed to develop further.
Kill! We must kill this brat! Killing intent surged in the hearts of those on Gong Wuji’s side. The head of the Thunder Note Hall laughed. “Brat, so what if we exterminated your Regal Pill Palace? So what if we killed your fellow disciples? Do you still think you’ll be lucky enough to escape today?”
Jiang Chen was furious, but concealed his fury with a laugh instead. “Very good. As long as you dare admit to your crimes. Killing Ding Rong that day was just a small advance payment on interest. I’ll have you all repay both principal and interest today! But don’t worry, I’ll also raze the Thunder Note Hall to the roots so that you won’t be lonely on the road to the underworld!”
“Brat, what insolence!” The moment Ding Rong was brought up, the head of the Thunder Note Hall felt bitter pain grip his heart. He turned toward Gong Wuji and said, “Sire, please give the order!”
Just as Gong Wuji was about to give the order, Jiang Chen suddenly laughed again. “Friends from the Ninesuns Sky Sect, if you’re already here, why stay hidden? You want to hide and reap the benefits, playing the oriole while the mantis stalks the cicada? Isn’t the strategy a little too cliche?”
Gong Wuji also knew the Ninesuns Sky Sect was behind them, but he hadn’t wanted to expose them yet since his primary objective was Jiang Chen’s capture. He didn’t want to bother thinking about the aftermath. If he could capture Jiang Chen and glean clues about the Paramount Realm, he would’ve rendered a great service to the sect. If by any chance the Paramount Realm was truly related to Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance, they would benefit greatly! He couldn’t care less about anyone else’s survival. Sacrificing some cannon fodder was necessary in order to achieve big aspirations!
Gong Wuji’s heart sank after seeing Jiang Chen expose the presence of the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Most of those from the Eternal Celestial Capital were bewildered. They had no idea that the Ninesuns Sky Sect had been tailing them.
“Hahaha, it is indeed that new talent springs forth in the lands with every generation. It truly amazes me that a mere Myriad Domain was able to produce a devil like you!” As Elder Hao spoke, the emperor realm cultivators from the Ninesuns Sky Sect descended into the open space. They approached the central area with large strides, completely ignoring the group from the Eternal Celestial Capital. Cao Jin’s uncle, Cao Meng, stood beside Elder Hao with a solemn expression. His gaze was locked on Jiang Chen, calculating and appraising, all the while completely ignoring those from the Eternal Celestial Capital. This arrogant attitude elicited nothing less than complete fury from the forces of the Eternal Celestial Capital.
“You, Hao! Why are you still clinging to us like a leech?!” Gong Wuji asked furiously.
Elder Hao shot a glance at Gong Wuji before replying with an expressionless face. “Gong Wuji, I have no time to exchange superfluous words with you. Hand over Ocean Cover, round up your men and get out of my sight!”
The two had actually held back a lot during their conflict in Tai-ah City. While they had been angry with each other, they had still maintained a modicum of decorum. But that intense battle had established an obvious enmity between the two, despite the knowledge that it had been instigated by a third party. Moreover, each side was fully aware of the other’s true motives. Hence, Elder Hao no longer had any reservations, but his attitude invited a plethora of curses from the Eternal Celestial Capital.
“Bullshit, you’re the ones who should scram!”
“What the hell are you on, huh?! Do you think the Ninesuns Sky Sect is so great? You think we’re afraid of you!?”
Elder Hao laughed coldly and shot Cao Meng a meaningful glance. “Ole brother Cao, it seems those from the Eternal Celestial Palace aren’t convinced?”
Cao Meng cackled nastily, his frosty gaze sweeping across everyone as h e released his emperor realm aura. “Who’s not convinced? Step out and we’ll have a chat!”
Cao Meng’s sworn brother possessed strength that was more or less equal to Cao Meng. He naturally wouldn’t stay idle after seeing Cao Meng take action and promptly released his aura as well. Together, a double wave of emperor realm aura swept outwards crashing against the Eternal Celestial Capital cultivators like raging tides against the shore.
The two cultivators were no weaker than Elder Hao, and were about the same level as Gong Wuji. Although Gong Wuji was powerful, the Eternal Celestial Capital had no other mid emperor realm cultivators on their side. However, the large number of initial emperor realm cultivators by his side were not to be trifled with either. They also activated their emperor realm auras to resist Cao Meng. Elder Hao snorted. “Are you trying to oppress us with superior numbers?”
With a whistle, reinforcements from the Ninesuns Sky Sect appeared one after another to join their ranks. The Ninesuns Sky Sect also possessed a fair number of initial emperor realm cultivators. They took the lead as reinforcements as hundreds of cultivators poured into Infant Shriek.
Both Cao Meng and Gong Wuji were taken aback when their auras clashed, each realizing that the other was a formidable adversary. Jiang Chen was also dumbfounded after seeing the sudden development. He wasn’t expecting the two forces to start fighting immediately after he exposed the Ninesuns Sky Sect. The scene playing out before him was well beyond his expectations.
Elder Hao, on the other hand, hadn’t moved a single inch. He stood there seemingly observing the battle while, in fact, his consciousness was securely locked onto Jiang Chen and was observing his every move. The moment Jiang Chen revealed the slightest signs of trying to escape, Elder Hao would capture him with swift ferocity.
But contrary to his expectations, Jiang Chen seemed to have absolutely no intention of fleeing and was instead calmly observing the ongoing battle in the midst of chaos. From beginning to end, it was as if the entire incident had nothing to do with him. He was like an outsider who was only there to spectate. Elder Hao’s mind was full of suspicions. Is this brat simply thick-skinned or absolutely reckless? He still has the mood to watch the show even at this critical juncture? The more Jiang Chen acted this way, the more Elder Hao felt that he shouldn’t be treated lightly.
Gong Wuji had been on Jiang Chen’s trail ever since the latter killed his grandson. Yet even after so long, he had not been able to touch a single hair on Jiang Chen’s head and had been enraged to the point of vomiting blood. This brat definitely can’t be taken lightly. He has so many trump cards in his arsenal, truly a unique entity of the Myriad Domain. Could it be…
Elder Hao’s thoughts jolted into action as he suddenly thought of a certain possibility—his heart spasming with the implications. Can it be… this brat has long since obtained Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance, which has led to his stunning rise? Otherwise, how else could a mere Myriad Domain have produced such a perverse genius?
This sudden thought, despite being far-fetched, took root in Elder Hao’s mind. It was unremovable and only increased in magnitude. “No matter, I definitely have to capture this brat alive and rip out all of his secrets one by one!” Elder Hao produced a restriction talisman with a thought. Just when he was about to take action, Gong Wuji shouted loudly. “Stop Hao! I’ll pin these two down!”
Although Gong Wuji was clashing auras with Cao Meng, he had been mindful of Elder Hao’s every move. He was shaken after seeing signs that the latter was about to take action. Even though Cao Meng’s party was powerful and Gong Wuji couldn’t handle a two on one for long, it wasn’t a problem to occupy their attention for a while. Meanwhile, the others would have to contain Elder Hao at all costs.
Huang’er tugged lightly on Jiang Chen’s sleeves and transmitted. “Are we leaving yet?”
Jiang Chen suddenly laughed. “This play hasn’t ended yet; we’re in no rush to leave.”
Gong Wuji groaned abruptly as he expanded his domain forcefully so that he could take a few steps back. He glared firmly at Elder Hao. “Hao, are you certain you want to fight to the death against my Eternal Celestial Capital?”
He was genuinely angered now. Gong Wuji had wanted to preserve his strength at first and had refrained from going all out. But he would be hard pressed to hold back his true power at this rate. In truth, Elder Hao had only wanted to suppress the other party through his aura and intimidate them into pulling back. But the situation at hand had proven that the enemy was not easily subdued. Instead, this might escalate into another bloody battle like the last time. If that happened, the benefits would be outweighed by the losses. Their main target today was Jiang Chen. It was obviously not a good idea to exhaust all his strength in fighting with the Eternal Celestial Capital.
The silence that followed was quickly broken by Elder Hao’s shout. “I’m not afraid of you if we are to fight, but we can negotiate if you don’t wish to fight.” He refused to lose out in terms of posturing despite hoping to end the fight.
Gong Wuji only laughed coldly; he had no interest in such conversations. “I can return Ocean Cover to you and have no need of an apology from you. But I want all of you to pull back after the sword is returned. How about it?”
Elder Hao laughed heartily, as if he had just heard a good joke. His voice dropped to an indifferent tone. “Gong Wuji, let’s speak frankly. You want to avenge your dead grandson but our Ninesuns Sky Sect also wishes to avenge Cao Jin.”
“Hao, we give you an inch and you take a mile!? There is an order of priority to everything! Jiang Chen was captured by the efforts of our Eternal Celestial Capital. You want to benefit so easily out of this?! Don’t you think this goes against convention?”
Elder Hao’s expression was indolent, “So your Eternal Celestial Capital has the means to track him down, what makes you think our Ninesuns Sky Sect doesn’t also have that ability? What a joke!”
The rascal had actually denied the charge flatly. Even Jiang Chen, who was listening from the sidelines, couldn’t help but laugh at their bickering.
