Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
Prince Chu Huang, Xiao Xue, Ye Guâyin, and Hou Guimen. With this, the Five Disciples of Snowy Mountainâaside from Leng Ziyanâhad all arrived.
The surrounding cultivators felt a sense of fear and stepped back, with no one daring to speak. The Snowy Mountain was one of the most powerful forces to enter the Mysterious Domain, after all, and although theyâd dare try to kill a Snowy Mountain disciple who was alone, that was because they had the Nine Songs Tribe supporting them and they knew a lone Snowy Mountain disciple wouldnât stir up trouble afterwards. With five Snowy Mountain disciples gathered like this, not many people would so readily offend them anymore.
Even Hong Leiâthe servant of the Nine Songs Tribeâhad a dark face as he coldly smiled and cupped his hands towards Prince Chu Huang. âYour Highness Prince Chu Huang, youâve arrived as well. However, this Snowy Mountain disciple of yours is truly very rudeâŚ.â
Chu Huang showed a look of dissatisfaction before lightly cupping his hands back. âPlease do not blame us. We the Snowy Mountain will naturally give you, our fellow Daoist, a good explanation.â
From the moment he saw the five disciples of the Snowy Mountain arrive, Hong Lei had considered simply dropping the matter entirely. The power and influence of the Snowy Mountain wasnât small, after all, and they were not someone he alone was able to place fault on. Just as he made up his mind to leave this and let his master sort it out later, he was overjoyed to find the person in the leadâPrince Chu Huangâwas so polite to him, leaving him rather relieved and happy.
âYour Highness, I believe you also know about the bounties sent by the Huangfu clan. My words carry very little weight so I cannot speak about such great matters, but when my young master returns, I will certainly be recounting everything to him. The choice is yours; I believe you know what the better choice is!â After speaking, he bowed and turned to leave, but it felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from his chest; if Prince Chu Huang had decided to attack him, he wouldnât have been able to say anything in response.
As the cultivators began to leave and the impending was dispersed, Chu Ci anxiously jumped off the car and ran towards Chu Huang with brisk steps and a delighted smile. âRoyal Big BrotherâŚ.!â Her original purpose had been to enter the Mysterious Domain to seek out her royal big brother, and although it had taken over half a month from the Snowy Mountain to here, her wish was finally fulfilled. The delight in her heart could not even be described.
When Prince Chu Huang saw Chu Ci running towards him, however, he showed no expression. Once Chu Ci finally got close, he held up his hand and aimed a slap right towards Chu Ciâs face. âDid I not say you werenât permitted here? So disobedient!â
Faced with this slap, Chu Ci stood frozen in place as though sheâd completely forgotten how to avoid it, but a light gold-colored rope suddenly coiled around Chu Ciâs waist at that moment to pull her back and help her evade the blow. Fang Xing peeked out from behind Chu Ci and cursed, âWhat a stray dog you are, biting whoever you wish!â
Prince Chu Ciâs gaze grew cold. âI am lecturing my own sister. Since when was this something you could intervene in?â
âAm I not allowed to hate the way you act?â
Prince Chu Huangâs gaze chilled as he spoke in a low voice, âFrom the moment you entered the Mysterious Domain, youâve caused such great problems which even brought more danger upon us Snowy Mountain disciples. To speak so rudely towards someone from the Nine Songs Tribe, are you trying to add another great enemy to our Snowy Mountain? From what I see, it is best for a person who doesnât follow the rules such as yourself to fix all the problems youâve caused on your own.â The look he held towards Fang Xing was filled with clear murderous intent.
Fang Xing could sense the underlying meaning in his words, and he snickered while rolling his eyes. âWhat are you implying?â
Prince Chu Huang softly laughed. âIâm not implying anything, Iâm simply sticking to my original viewpoint. You can rest assured, when I hand you over to the Huangfu clan, I will ask for mercy on your behalf in the hope he will spare your pitiful lifeâŚ.â
The faces of everyone around him changed as soon as these words were spoken, especially Chu Ciâs which became as pale as a ghost.
A small hand grabbed ahold of Ye Guâyinâs sleeve from behind and made a pleading tug, only for Ye Guâyin to give a look of understanding after turning around and looking at whoâd done so. The hand belonged to none other than Ying Qiaoqiao, whoâd arrived here with the other Spirit Stage elites from the Snowy Mountain.
Ying Qiaoqiao had arrived at around the time when Chu Huang was about to slap Chu Ci, and after Fang Xing got himself involved, she was left without any chance to meet up with him at all. When she heard Prince Chu Huang say he was going to cause Fang Xing such trouble, she desperately begged Ye Guâyin to help Fang Xing out.
âYour Highness, I donât recall us agreeing to hand Shidi Fang over to the Huangfu clan!â Xiao Xue suddenly spoke up while sending an unfriendly gaze towards Prince Chu Huang. Even Hou Guimen showed a troubled look and quickly followed suit by nodding his head at Xiao Xueâs words.
In truth, they had actually been here even before Fang Xing had his little spat with the western desert cultivators, it was simply a matter of whether to show themselves and meet up with Fang Xing or not. They actually had differing views and arguments over it, and it wasnât until they saw Fang Xing at risk of being attacked by all of the surrounding cultivators that they finally revealed themselves to help.
Prince Chu Huang coldly replied, âIf we do not hand him over and the Huangfu clan seeks to blame us, are you going to be the one to receive his fury?â A flash of anger crossed his eyes and his voice chilled even further with annoyance. âThe Huangfu is already dissatisfied with us Snowy Mountain because he killed those four groups. When I attempted to pass Godâs Bridge, the only reason I failed was because of him. Or perhaps you all want to become enemies of the Eight Bewitched Followers by refusing to hand him over to the Huangfu clan?â
Xiao Xueâs gaze cooled at this, and even Hou Guimen and Ye Guâyin showed dismay. They didnât even dare to think of such a terrible thing as becoming an enemy of the Huangfu clanâŚ.
Prince Chu Huangâs hatred towards Fang Xing had become so great there wasnât a single thing about him he didnât dislike. His original intent had been to enter the deepest parts of the Mysterious Domain as fast as possible to have a chance at getting his name on the list, and heâd even gone so far as to abandon other Snowy Mountain disciples in order to do so. In the end, however, heâd been warned off by the ambassadors of the Huangfu clan when he was trying to cross Godâs Bridge, where they directly told him he needed to sort out this matter with the Snowy Mountain before heâd be allowed to cross. It was for this reason heâd been left with no choice but to returnâŚ.
âWe can first send Shidi Fang out of the Mysterious Domain. If the Huangfu clan isnât satisfied with this, we can ask them to discuss everything with our five shifus!â Xiao Xue coldly replied. âBefore we entered, our shifus said even though the opportunities within the domain are important, we must still help one another. Not once did they say anything about handing over our Snowy Mountain disciple just because the Huangfu clan said something, right? By sending Shidi Fang outside, we will show the Huangfu clan we hold no hostility towards them and Iâm sure they wouldnât go so far as to want to kill us for this!â
Xiao Xue didnât say this out of a deep friendship towards Fang Xing or anything, it was simply because she refused to yield to anyone. Her temperament was rather belligerent, and admitting defeat was the last thing on her mind. If they were to hand over Fang Xing, it would become a shadow over her heart that couldnât be dispersed.
Upon hearing Xiao Xueâs words, Hou Guimen followed, âI think what Shijie Xiao said is reasonableâŚâ He, on the other hand, simply felt Fang Xiaojiu was a good person and someone worthy of befriending; it was only natural he wanted to speak up in his favor right now.
Ye Guâyin felt her sleeve tugged once more. She couldnât deny the request of her little shimei and coldly spoke up as well, âIf our shifu knew we handed over a Snowy Mountain disciple in exchange for our own safety, they would assuredly not be pleasedâŚ. Besides, havenât we already decided we would first enter the Chaotic Stone Valley to capture and kill the little bandit Fang Xing? Canât we sort this out afterwards?â After news had spread that âFang Xingâ had been trapped inside the Chaotic Stone Valley, she was the one whoâd been the most desperate to arrive. She wouldâve entered immediately if she could.
With three of the four Snowy Mountain disciples agreeing not to hand over Fang Xing, Prince Chu Huangâs expression became truly dire. âFor the sake of this person, youâd even give up on an opportunity? I imagine youâve already heard, but if we hand him over to the Huangfu clan, weâll be able to receive a summons to enter the Sword Mound. Then, with all our combined efforts, weâll go inside the Chaotic Stone Valley for the little demon Fang Xing and have another. Iâm sure theyâll also give us another summons for Snowy Mountain once the enmity between us and the Huangfu clan is resolved, so weâll have a total of threeâŚ.â
Prince Chu Huang couldnât help but to look towards Fang Xing at this moment. He was aware this Fang Xiaojiu was actually Fang Xingâhe and his grand elder Chu Taishang had personally investigated thisâand this whole situation left him feeling rather confused. He didnât know why there was another Fang Xing inside the Chaotic Stone Valley, but he did know that if they were to capture him, theyâd still be able to get another summons.
The reason Prince Chu Huang had mentioned all of this specifically was because he didnât believe these people would be able to resist it. Three royal summons was equivalent to three Sword Embryos, after all, and who wouldnât want something similar to an apex skill that continued to grow?
As expected, when Xiao Xue, Hou Guimen, and Ye Guâyin heard about the summons to enter the Sword Mound, all of their gazes flickered and their eyes grew unfocused. After some hesitation, however, Xiao Xueâs gaze calmed and she replied, âI still donât agree. As for the Sword Mound, weâll think of another way!â
Hou Guimen sighed as well. âCanât we just enter the Chaotic Stone Valley and capture the little demon first? I heard the topography and formations of this valley are extremely complex. With the knowledge I have in formations, we should be able to find him before anyone else.â
Prince Chu Huang declined to comment and simply looked towards Ye Guâyin. Ye Guâyin was clearly swayed and didnât speak even with Ying Qiaoqiao continuing to tug and twist on her sleeve.
Prince Chu Huang could tell Ye Guâyin was leaning towards his suggestion. Even Hou Guimen might not want to continue helping the kid and would most likely end up being neutral. The most difficult, then, was the matter of that hot-headed woman. After some considerations on the current balance of battle prowess, he developed a plan and coldly said, âThe young master of the Huangfu clan may not necessarily want his life. Letâs make a decision!â
Those words seemed to seal Fang Xingâs fate, and Prince Chu Huang clawed outward with his fingers to grasp at Fang Xingâs face.
The five Snowy Mountain disciples hadnât been reunited long enough to even have a cup of tea, yet theyâd been broken apart once more!