Chapter 270: Borrowing Power to Establish Deterrence
According to what Xia Qingyue had said before, consuming a single Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus could allow an Earth Xuan Realm practitioner to directly leap to the Heavenly Xuan Realm. And the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus that Xia Qingyue had taken was tempered with the Heavenly Poison Pearl, making its effects several times stronger than the legendary version. Yun Che had thought it might allow her to directly break through to the mid-stage Heavenly Xuan Realm, or even the late stage…
But he absolutely never imagined that she would break through two entire realms, from the Earth Xuan Realm all the way to the dreaded King Xuan Realm! Becoming a Throne looked up to by countless people!
A Throne who was only seventeen years old—and a woman at that!
"This… is… way… too… ridi…cu…lous…!" Yun Che groaned inwardly.
What did the King Xuan Realm mean? In the entire Cang Feng Empire, the total number of Thrones would not exceed ten people. And these ten individuals stood at the very pinnacle of the Cang Feng Empire's profound way. Only when he finally realized this did it dawn on him that the force he was facing was not the Tai Su Sect at all, but a Throne who didn't even belong to the Tai Su Sect! What scruples would a Throne have about killing him?
The cold light dancing from that lotus blossom looked incredibly beautiful, but as it approached, every hair on his body stood on end. He didn't doubt for a moment that if that lotus touched him, he would die for sure, without the slightest chance of survival.
Under the threat of death, Heimu Qingya let out a strange shriek. Despite his severe injuries, he forced out one hundred and twenty percent of his power, leaping backward with the swiftness of a grasshopper to evade Xia Qingyue's ice lotus. But when he landed, he collapsed like a dead dog, unable to stand for a long time… As the lord of the Heimu Fort, a powerful Heavenly Xuan practitioner, he had probably never imagined that one day he would be so miserably humiliated.
Xia Qingyue's brows moved slightly. Her snow-white hand turned over, and another ice lotus blossomed in her palm. That first ice lotus had made it clear to everyone that even the mighty lord of the Heimu Fort, who dominated the Jiangdong region, was someone she would kill without a second thought if she wished. The second ice lotus hadn't even fully bloomed before everyone from the Heimu Fort turned pale. Su Wangji shot to his feet and roared in an aged voice, "Stop! Don't go too far, or else…"
"Or else what?" Yun Che glanced sideways at him and said coldly, "When he wanted to kill me, you stood by watching the show. Now that we want to kill him, you come out here yapping? Hah! My father-in-law and my fiancée Ling'er are both members of the Tai Su Sect. Out of respect for them, I'll pretend I didn't hear your words just now. But if you dare say one more word, I'll have my wife kill you right now! Do you want to try?"
Su Wangji's eyes bulged, his entire body trembling. A quiver escaped his throat, but faced with Yun Che's fierce gaze, he forcefully swallowed the word "you" that was about to leave his mouth. He heavily sat back down in his chair, not daring to say another word. The fear of death was a human instinct. As a Supreme Elder, he was used to bullying others and lording his status over people. He had never truly faced the threat of death before. This time, for the first time in his life, faced with such a threat, all his so-called backbone and fighting spirit turned into the coldest terror. He trembled all over and dared not speak another syllable.
To be honest, Su Hengshan's heart was incredibly satisfied at that moment. Heimu Qingya had been his sworn enemy for years, and yet he had never been able to do anything about him. Su Wangji, as the Supreme Elder, often looked down on him. Even when annoyed, he had to endure it. Now, watching Heimu Qingya's condition and seeing Su Wangji cower like a cicada in winter, he was utterly delighted. But given his nature, he also didn't want to see things go to extremes. He stepped forward, patted Yun Che on the shoulder, and shook his head. "Brother Yun, let it go. Although Heimu Qingya is despicable, he is a well-known figure in Jiangdong. Killing him inside the Tai Su Sect would be somewhat improper. He's already severely injured now. It looks like he won't recover for a year or two. Let him pay some price and then let him go."
Yun Che wasn't surprised at all that Su Hengshan said this. He smiled wryly. "Father-in-law, Ling'er and I have already engaged in a public betrothal. Calling me 'Brother Yun' is really too generous… If you don't like calling me son-in-law, Father-in-law can directly call me Yun Che, or 'Che'er.'"
Su Hengshan was startled. Looking at Yun Che's expression, it was clear that he truly and completely took today's "betrothal" to heart. He laughed. "Look at me. I was so focused on the betrothal that I forgot to change how I address you… Che'er, what do you think about what I just said?"
Yun Che smiled. "Since it's Father-in-law who has spoken, Che'er naturally obeys. However, what price does Father-in-law hope he will pay?"
Heimu Qingya was already tense, his forehead dripping with cold sweat. Upon hearing their conversation, his spirits lifted. He quickly took out a space ring and tossed it to Su Hengshan. Throughout the entire process, he didn't utter a single word… To save his life, he had to soften his stance and publicly hand over a "price." Beneath the humiliation, his chest felt like it was about to burst. How could he speak?
Su Hengshan caught the space ring. Sweeping his profound energy through it, he found it contained a full three square meters of Purple Cloud Mysterious Iron. Considering the preciousness of Purple Cloud Mysterious Iron, this basically represented the Heimu Fort's entire harvest for a year. He nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand at Heimu Qingya. "Since the Heimu Fort master is so generous, I'll not stand on ceremony… Take care, and don't bother seeing us out!"
Heimu Qingya's chest heaved violently, and then the whites of his eyes rolled back as he passed out cold. His two protectors quickly lifted him up, cast a fearful glance at Xia Qingyue, and dared not linger. The Heimu Fort disciples who had come with them also followed behind, slinking away in disgrace.
Yun Che let out a silent sigh of relief and cast a grateful look at Xia Qingyue.
Back when he first met Su Ling'er, her world had been filled entirely with melancholy and gloom… Knowing her current identity, one could imagine that she must have experienced a great upheaval in her family and all sorts of despair.
Yun Che never knew exactly what had happened to her or her family. But looking at the now carefree and untroubled Su Ling'er, he never wanted her to relive that fate again. So today, leveraging Xia Qingyue's absolute power, he used harsh words and actions to establish a deterrent for the Tai Su Sect, creating the illusion for any factions with malicious intentions toward the Tai Su Sect that it had a formidable backing… Although relying on a temporary illusion to hope that the Tai Su Sect would avoid its former fate was a bit naive, it was the only thing Yun Che could do at this moment…
Even if… this were only an illusion… and after twelve hours, everything would vanish like bubbles… He still poured all his thoughts into doing everything he could for Ling'er, all for that heart that deeply loved Su Ling'er and was filled with the deepest guilt.
…