Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“The Clan Head’s command token?”
The elder in the golden battle armor looked at the command token and became confused. There were only two such tokens in the Phantom Race. It represented the highest power. Seeing the command token was akin to seeing the Phantom King himself. The problem was that he was on the Phantom King’s orders, not to allow anyone to see Yi Piaopiao. This was the cause of his confusion.
“Hmph!”
Yi Buhui was beginning to feel embarrassed. In a cold voice, he said, “Thirty-Sixth Elder, seeing the Clan Head’s command token is akin to seeing the Clan Head himself. Do you dare to defy his orders? If anything happens, I promise I will bear the consequences!”
“I wouldn’t dare!”
The elder in the golden battle armor was from the Phantom Race as well, but he was not related to them by blood. He had no inherent power; otherwise, he would have been sent to guard the Saint Prison. Since Yi Buhui had put it that way, it was no good for him to say anything more. With a single hand, he hit the door. The door flashed white and then slowly retracted upwards.
Ss, ss!
Jiang Yi was being pressed down by the gravity in the prison, but at that moment, his heart was racing. It threatened to jump out of his chest. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and stared hard inside the prison. His entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
“En?”
Jiang Yi’s strange movements attracted the attention of Yi Buhui, Qi Qingchen, and Di Ling’er. The three of them turned to him, shocked. Jiang Yi’s trembling could be due to the fact that he could not hold himself up against the gravity. However, the look in his eyes was too strange. He looked overly agitated, in fact.
The stone gate continued to retract upwards slowly. The dark, stone hall behind it appeared in front of them. Yi Buhui and company did not have much time to bother about Jiang Yi’s weird behavior anymore. They all looked into the stone hall, searching for the prisoner within.
The stone hall was not big. There were only one small hall and one room. The hall was empty; there was nothing inside it at all except for an orange, luminous pearl emitting a faint glow. The room door was not closed either. They could faintly see half the room from where they stood.
Jiang Yi looked through the room door and could see half of someone’s back. A woman was seated cross-legged inside on top of a praying mat. Her back was slightly bent. It was obvious that she was feeling the weight of the gravity as well. She was probably in seclusion; that was probably why she did not notice that the stone gate had already opened. The group could only see her back, but not her face.
It’s Mom!
When Jiang Yi saw the woman’s back, he immediately recognized Yi Piaopiao. For some reason, he felt the blood connection between him and the woman inside screaming out. His eyes seemed to glow red. Yi Buhui, Qi Qingchen, and Di Ling’er were already starting to walk inwards; but he could not bring himself to take a single step. He kept his eyes fixed on the woman’s back.
Hoo-hoo!
He forced back the tears in the corners of his eyes and took a deep breath before he stepped forward. At the same time, he released his divine senses to scan the room.
However—
Just at that moment, an unexpected change suddenly happened!
When Yi Buhui walked through the gate, the gate lit up; and a transparent, protective layer of light appeared in front of them. Immediately, Yi Buhui rebounded back. He even knocked into Di Ling’er and caused her to stumble back several steps. Qi Qingchen’s expression changed. She caught Di Ling’er with one hand. When she saw that the stone gate fell once again, her eyes filled with confusion.
“Uh?”
Jiang Yi did not think that the stone gate would contain a hidden restriction. When he saw the stone gate fall once again, he panicked. He immediately turned to Qi Qingchen and sent a voice transmission: “Qi Qingchen, help me to break open this stone gate and save Yi Piaopiao. I—Jiang Yi—promise to become your slave for the rest of my life.”
Qi Qingchen became even more confused. She turned to look at Jiang Yi and saw the strange, crazed look on his face. A soft, white light appeared in her hand. She was prepared to stop the stone gate from landing on the ground.
“Hmph!”
However, one by one, they heard cold voices shouting. All of their hearts jumped. Jiang Yi, Di Ling’er, and Yi Buhui trembled. Their legs turned to jelly, and they fell to the ground immediately. The white light in Qi Qingchen’s hand disappeared. She turned to glance at the already-closed stone gate helplessly. The restrictions around it kept flashing nonstop!
“Grandfather…”
Yi Buhui’s expression changed. He had never thought that the Phantom King would set up an invisible restriction around the room. Anyone who went close to it would activate it. He probably could then sense their presence.
The Phantom King was very hard-headed. He was extremely strict to his own clansmen and disciples. He had the heart to punish even his youngest and beloved daughter; Yi Buhui had no idea what kind of punishment he would have to endure for bringing in this group of people secretly.
As expected!
An elderly voice shouted, “Someone, bring Yi Buhui to the Fifteenth Level and lock him there for a month!”
Swish! Swish!
Two gentle breezes were felt at the end of the corridor. The two people moved like phantoms as they took hold of Yi Buhui expressionlessly. Yi Buhui did not even try to plead for mercy because he knew that one the Phantom King had made his mind up about something, nobody would be able to change it.
“Wait!”
In a flash, Qi Qingchen patted Jiang Yi on the shoulder. Strange energy entered his body, causing him to be unable to move. He could not even speak. Qi Qingchen saw the crazed look in Jiang Yi’s eyes and remembered what he asked her to do. Afraid that he would do something rash to anger the Phantom King, she made a decisive move to paralyze him.
She stood beside Jiang Yi and then cupped her hands towards the sky. “Qingchen greets the Phantom King. I was the one who asked Young Master Buhui to take me here today. Piaopiao and I have always been as close as sisters. That was why I decided to come and pay her a visit. Phantom King, if you want to punish someone, please punish Qingchen. Please let Young Master Buhui go.”
At that moment, Yi Buhui smiled. He shook his head and gazed at Qingchen. “It’s just a month of lock-up. No worries, I can take it. Qingchen, hearing these words from you will help me die without any regrets. Don’t beg this old antique!”
“Old antique?”
Qi Qingchen and Di Ling’er’s view of Yi Buhui changed drastically at that moment. Whether he was trying to please Qi Qingchen or whether he had some dissatisfaction with the Phantom King, the fact that he dared to say something like that about his own Grandfather—the King of the Phantom Race—showed that he had guts.
“Presumptuous!”
An elderly voice scolded him. It sounded like thunder in the sky. Immediately, Yi Buhui was knocked unconscious. Both Jiang Yi and Di Ling’er also felt their eardrums vibrate, and their visions blur.
The voice paused and then sounded again. “Lass from the Qi Clan, since you are on my territory, you should follow my rules! Unless you can defeat me, stop talking nonsense. Yi Fan1, send them out and lock Yi Buhui up!”
The two Phantom Race’s formidable martial artists brought Yi Buhui away at once. Qi Qingchen sighed in frustration. She was also a King-Ranked martial artist, but she had just broken through. Given the Phantom King’s battle skills, he could likely defeat even her own father. Of course, she would not dare to embarrass herself before him.
“Let’s go!”
With a single hand, she grabbed onto Jiang Yi’s shoulder. With the other, she grabbed Di Ling’er’s arm. Then, all of them floated upwards, leaving behind a gust of cold wind. In a couple of breaths’ time, they reached the top of the mountain and walked out of the Saint Prison.
A middle-aged, powerful man dressed in golden, elegant clothes was already waiting outside for the group of them. When he saw Qi Qingchen walk out, he cupped his hands, smiling bitterly. “Young Mistress Qingchen, that’s Majesty Father’s temper for you. I hope you wouldn’t take it to heart.”
Qi Qingchen smiled slightly, showing that she did not. She only replied guiltily, “I’ve gotten Young Master Buhui into trouble.”
“No worries! He can still cultivate his physical body while locked up inside. Perhaps he can even change that impulsive character of his.”
The middle-aged, powerful man shook his head, smiling slightly. Then, he scanned Di Ling’er and Jiang Yi, whom Qi Qingchen was still holding onto. When he saw Jiang Yi, his expression became one of astonishment. He was so shocked that his spirit threatened to jump out of his body. Concerned, he asked, “Young Mistress Qingchen, is your friend alright? Why don’t you come into the castle and get some rest?”
Qingchen stole a glance at Jiang Yi and then sent a concerned voice transmission: “Jiang Yi, are you alright? Why don’t we rest here for a while before we go back?”
Jiang Yi slowly came back to reality. As he scanned his surroundings, extreme helplessness and bitterness filled his eyes. He did not send a voice transmission in reply. Instead, he smiled mockingly and said, “I don’t want to stay a single second longer in this cold, ruthless place. Let’s go… we’ll leave here at once!”
