Chapter 2213: Destruction
After Headmaster Wen left, “Yu Hao” and Yu Chuan were left alone to talk.
Once no one else was around, the two men dropped their act.
"How is Xiao Hao doing?" Yu Chuan asked.
Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. "He killed himself a couple decades ago."
Yu Chuan squeezed his eyes closed tight in his grief. "It's all my fault! I thought that it would be possible to fool the four ruling powers by sacrificing myself. And yet, my Yu family still became a joke to the entire Perennial World. It’s all my fault."
Lu Yin tried to comfort the man. "No one could have expected the four ruling powers to be so ruthless that they would ever dare to eliminate your family in that manner."
Yu Chuan was still bitter about his family’s fate, but he suddenly looked at Lu Yin with a good deal of suspicion. "So, who are you? Why are you doing all this?"
Lu Yin thought for a bit, but he really had no idea what sort of answer to give.
"It's not a problem if you don't want to say. There’s really no reason, as my Yu family is already the biggest joke, and there is no worse outcome than this. Regardless of your goals, be careful of Shenwu's Sky. Everyone in Star Alliance has a restriction on them, and it can only be removed if all four ruling powers work together," Yu Chuan warned.
Lu Yin stared at Yu Chuan’s back as the old man left. He was planning to settle down close to Virtue Archives, so the two would easily be able to meet each other whenever they wanted.
Even though they understood each other, they had to maintain this facade.
There were times when Lu Yin truly did not understand how the four ruling powers’ restriction worked on the members of Star Alliance. Many of the people had already come to grips with death, and trying to force them to the rear battlefield with a restriction should be completely useless.
It was basically nothing more than prison garb to such people.
***
Far away, in the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng had returned to Shenwu's Sky. After multiple attempts, he finally managed to speak with the family’s Progenitor, Xia Shenji, on the second day.
The Semi-Progenitor reported everything that had recently happened to Xia Shenji, and he finished by summarizing his own suspicions. "If I’m correct, then the Celestial Frost Sect is not only trying to use Bai Weiwei to win Yu Hao over, but they are also doing their best to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side. They secretly want to acquire the other three pieces to the restriction placed on the members of Star Alliance. Their ambitions are unbelievable, but their purpose has been made clear.”
"If not for the fact that Bai Weiwei has been too obvious in her efforts and that Xia Yan happened to learn about Gu Yan's change in attitude towards the Celestial Frost Sect, we would have remained completely ignorant. We also might have never discovered that the Celestial Frost Sect is likely the ones behind the attack on Xia Xing."
After a long period of silence, Xia Shenji finally started giving some orders. "Use our full strength to go after Realmless to find out who ordered the attack."
Regardless of whether Xia Ziheng's speculations were correct, it was imperative they have solid evidence before attacking the Celestial Frost Sect. The Xia family was completely inadequate to go after the Celestial Frost Sect by itself, and they would need the others of the four ruling powers to join their efforts.
Xia Ziheng's suspicions were somewhat close to the truth, and while Xia Shenji was technically a Progenitor who was far more powerful than others, he was not omniscient. His orders demonstrated that he believed Xia Ziheng's words.
"What did the Progenitor say?" someone asked from behind Xia Ziheng.
The Semi-Progenitor turned around to look at the person who had just approached. "Attack Realmless with our full strength and look for evidence."
The man nodded.
"You still can't feel it?" Xia Ziheng asked while staring at the person before him. The man was Xia Xing.
Given the fact that Xia Xing was the sect master of Shenwu's Sky and the Xia family’s patriarch, he had naturally learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique. When meeting with others, he only ever used clones. Lu Yin had only captured a clone, while Xia Xing’s main body was still in the Higher Realm at Shenwu's Sky.
Lu Yin had been right to be so cautious. He was quite lucky that he had never brought Xia Xing out from Zenith Mountain after capturing him. Otherwise, Xia Xing definitely would have been able to locate his clone, which would have been incredibly dangerous for Lu Yin.
"I still can't feel anything. Whoever captured my clone is being very careful. The clone should have only been captured, as if it had died, I would have suffered injuries," Xia Xing replied.
Xia Ziheng’s eyes narrowed. "This had to have been planned out a long time ago. Not only was your travel path known to them, but they even knew that it was a clone. There’s no other reason for you to not be able to feel the clone’s whereabouts."
"True. If the Celestial Frost Sect really did do this, then this definitely won’t be the end. Grandmaster Gu Yan and Star Alliance are not enough for the Celestial Frost Sect to overpower us other three, so they definitely have something more planned." Xia Xing looked out at the Celestial Frost Sect as he spoke.
…
There was a place in the Perennial World’s Middle Realm that looked like a paradise. There were no cultivators or war there. The people living in this paradise were on an island in the middle of a massive lake. While it was referred to as an island, that was only from the perspective of the lake. The island was absolutely massive, large enough to be home to an entire civilization. The island was known as Crow Village, and it was a place where fighting and killing were forbidden.
Flocks of birds flew through the sky, while people from a small village toiled on the ground below. It was a peaceful scene, though it was marred by the presence of an odd flaming horse on the shore of the lake. The horse was enormous, and it periodically ran from one end of the lake to the other, its flames lighting up the entire area. The light of these flames was what determined night and day for these villagers.
When the horse ran, it would be day for the villagers, and there were times when the days would be exceptionally long. Also, if more than one horse ran around, the flames would completely illuminate all of Wuncun.
On one particular day, a herd of flaming horses was running above the lake, and the flames that the creatures gave off heated up the entire island.
Many of the villagers working in the fields patted their collars to disperse a bit of the accumulated sweat, and they frequently left the fields to get a bit of water. From time to time, sounds of laughter could be heard.
It had started off as a normal day, but such an ordinary day was shattered for the people of Wuncun when a person broke through the void. He raised a hand, and obliterated all the flaming horses in an instant. Blood rained down on the village, and the mundanity instantly disappeared.
Blood covered the earth in the fields, the river, and around the houses of the village. The screams of the flaming horses rang out.
In the sky high above, Xia Ziheng stared down at Crow Village. "Who would have thought that the headquarters of Realmless, the largest assassin and intelligence organization, would be in this place. Today, I and Shenwu's Sky will erase Realmless from the Middle Realm!"
The man then raised a hand high and squeezed it tight. A vast amount of star essence surged out, forming mountains that then crashed down upon the island and the surrounding lake. There was no escape for anyone.
The villagers working near the village looked up at the sky in disbelief and despair.
Xia Ziheng's hand dropped with a bang, but as it struck, a pair of cold, dark eyes opened down on the ground. At the same time, an entire series of terrifying auras erupted in a counterattack. Each of the auras belonged to at least an Envoy, and there were even a few that nearly matched Xia Ziheng's impressive level of strength.
Xia Ziheng’s eyes snapped open. "Get out here and kneel!"
"Kekeke, Xia Ziheng, you dare to try to force your grandpa onto his knees? Have you forgotten about how you begged for mercy back then?" An old man gave a creepy smile, though his eyes remained stoic.
Someone else on the ground shouted as well. This person looked like a young scholar, and he had a scarf wrapped around him and a feather fan in his hand. "Brother Ziheng, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, and now that we finally see each other again, you act so rudely?"
These people were able to stop Xia Zixing’s stellular energy from striking the ground. In particular, one person in the center of the island looked upwards with indescribably cold eyes. He released an aura that belonged to a peak Envoy, and it surged upwards to counter Xia Ziheng’s billowing pressure.
Instantly, all of Crow Village was shrouded in smoke, and black nets filled the sky above the lake around the island, and a practically endless bloodlust filled the air. This was Realmless’s headquarters.
Xia Ziheng’s cold eyes roamed over the people who were standing against him. "So many old acquaintances have gathered here. I thought that you were all dead. I never even considered that you might hide in Realmless. It doesn’t matter, though. I’ll send you all on to finish your journey today."
An enormous black net rose up. It had existed for countless years as a final defense to protect Realmless, and it was capable of shattering an attacker’s organs. This defensive measure was why Realmless believed that they could resist even a Semi-Progenitor’s attack. Countless blades swept across the lake before returning to form birdcages that surrounded the island.
The cold-eyed man gritted his teeth. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, you won’t say anything even while attacking my Realmless? Even if I die today, at least allow me to die with the knowledge of how you found this place."
Xia Ziheng glanced over. "I know you. You’re Realmless’s primary intermediary with the outside world. I never expected you to actually be a peak Envoy, given your role as a messenger. Seeing you here, it seems that I might have been mistaken, and this might not actually be Realmless’s headquarters."
The man's expression changed slightly, but he made a point to not reveal anything that could give away anything. "All I want to know is how this place was discovered."
Xia Ziheng sneered. He had no interest in talking. Suddenly, the birdcage made of blades disappeared, and all the island’s residents were reduced to puddles of blood that stained the island and the lake around it red.
These people were too weak to oppose a Semi-Progenitor, as they were simply not on the same level. There had been no way for them to escape from the birdcage.
Xia Ziheng had acted quickly because he feared that Realmless would destroy the information that he sought. His goal was not to eliminate assassins, but rather to find information. He was seeking evidence.
After dealing with all the people on the island, Xia Ziheng summoned people from Shenwu's Sky and ordered them to scour the island for any information that they could find. At the same time, the Semi-Progenitor found a remote corner of the island to seclude himself. The underlings would seek him out whenever they found anything of interest.
A young man approached Xia Ziheng. He did not appear to be very powerful, and he seemed to only be a one-tribulation Envoy. Even so, Xia Ziheng did not underestimate the young man. "This is not Realmless’s headquarters."
"I know," the young man replied casually.
Xia Ziheng felt that he had to continue explaining. "If Xia Xing's clone didn’t disappear, we would have never exposed you so early."
The young man lifted his head and smiled. "The family nurtured me and raised me. It’s only right for me to repay the family now."
Xia Ziheng continued to say, "Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong is dead, and Wang Su went to the Forsaken Land. Of the four Junior Progenitors, Only you and Long Tian remain. Fortunately, you had a task to do, and so you returned to the family. Otherwise, you would be among those who have been stranded in the Forsaken Land all this time, Shenfei."
The young man was none other than Xia Shenfei, one of the four Junior Progenitors, and a member of the Xia family’s main line. However, this young man seemed completely different from the drunkard Xia Shenfei that Lu Yin had previously interacted with.
No one had expected Xia Shenfei, the Xia family’s Junior Progenitor, to have been willing to go undercover and infiltrate Realmless. He had been the one to give the family the location of the headquarters on Wuncun.
Xia Shenfei lowered his hands. "Realmless is too cautious. I’ve been a part of them for over twenty years, and I’ve killed many people for them. The family even cooperated to ensure that I accomplished great things for Realmless, but I was only able to reach this far. Do you know how to post jobs here?"
Xia Ziheng shook his head. "If you say that this isn’t Realmless’s headquarters, then I believe you. There’s no need to know how they handle things. We can work without evidence."
A smile spread across Xia Shenfei's face, and he pulled out a gourd full of wine from his cosmic ring and took a sip before letting out a relaxed breath. "I'm an alcoholic, but I’ve had to abandon drinking for the last twenty years. This sip just now tasted absolutely amazing, haha."
Xia Ziheng looked at Xia Shenfei with open admiration. There were some people who could pursue their desires without end, exaggerating things to the extreme for the entirety of their lives. However, there were also people who could force their desires to completely disappear in an instant. Xia Shenfei was one such person.
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