Wu Jiu listened to Mu Yun’s blunt words, yet surprisingly, he didn’t fly into a rage as he usually would.
Instead, he caught the key information in what Mu Yun had said.
That good-for-nothing brat Lu Xuan had actually left Mingxin Manor—and nobody even knew where he’d gone.
That damned brat, making a fool of me time and time again—it’s absolutely infuriating!
Wu Jiu seethed with resentment, cursing inwardly.
Earlier, that Lu Xuan had clearly sent word to Li Chengxing, telling him to come find him at Mingxin Manor.
But now? That wretched brat had left him here waiting around like an idiot.
Wu Jiu couldn’t help but wonder—was Lu Xuan deliberately messing with him all along?
At this moment, Wu Jiu felt a wicked fire surging straight up to the top of his head. He was about to be completely consumed by his fury.
His eyes were bloodshot, like two burning flames of blood, glaring at Mu Yun with utter venom. He squeezed his words out through clenched teeth, one syllable at a time.
“Mu Yun, you’d better tell me right now—when is that Lu Xuan coming back?”
His chest heaved violently as he added viciously, “I don’t have that kind of time to sit around waiting for him!”
Seeing this, Mu Yun had no intention of being polite to Wu Jiu. As the Vice Director of the Xuan Niao Guard, he had the current Emperor’s backing.
In his view, the Wu family wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him.
Mu Yun’s eyes were filled with undisguised indifference, completely unbothered by Wu Jiu’s rage.
“What’s the matter, Wu Jiu? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of making a move?”
A provocative smirk tugged at the corner of Mu Yun’s mouth, his eyes full of disdain.
The moment the words left his mouth, Mu Yun’s aura came surging out from within him like a raging tide.
In an instant, fierce winds howled and swept up, like countless sharp blades wildly slashing around Wu Jiu, whipping his robes until they flapped noisily.
At the same time, three ghost-like red afterimages tore through the air, flying toward Wu Jiu.
In the blink of an eye, these three figures had Wu Jiu completely surrounded.
If one looked closely, they would discover that these three red afterimages were all Earth-rank Xuan Niao Guards.
Each one was a top-tier martial artist at the Outer Gang Grandmaster realm, radiating a chilling killing intent.
Even though Wu Jiu found himself surrounded by Xuan Niao Guards, his expression remained calm—not a trace of panic.
He let out a cold snort, his voice icy to the bone, as if carrying frost that chilled to the marrow: “Mu Yun, since you’re so insistent.”
“Then don’t blame the Wu family for being rude!”
At this moment, Wu Jiu had cast aside all reservations. That old bastard Li Chengxing was a member of the Li family, one of the Eight Great Families, so he’d let that slide for now.
But now, he was determined to make Mu Yun understand—provoking the Eight Great Families would come at a bitter price.
Wu Jiu’s aura churned around him, exuding a fierce and ruthless presence.
A mere Half-Step Divine Manor realm martial artist, and he dared to repeatedly refuse the Wu family?
“Ancestor!” Wu Jiu cried out, slicing through the tense air.
As the word fell, everything around Wu Jiu seemed to have its “distortion” switch flipped.
The invisible space around Wu Jiu churned violently, like boiling lake water.
The once-calm flow of heaven and earth energy became chaotic, forming small visible whirlpools that emitted sharp whistling sounds.
The whirlpools spun faster and faster, pulling the surrounding light into twisted, distorted shapes—as if space itself was being torn apart by this force.
Then, on Wu Jiu’s forehead, a bewitching and mysterious purple pattern slowly emerged, like an ancient rune of heaven and earth, carrying an indescribable strangeness.
The next second, threads of energy seeped out from that purple pattern—seemingly faint, yet carrying an infinite pressure as tangible as substance.
Mu Yun and the Xuan Niao Guards saw this, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale. The power within their bodies was suppressed as well.
“What terrifying aura!”
Mu Yun couldn’t help but cry out inwardly.
Almost at the same instant, the space around Wu Jiu seemed to be tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand.
Then, a power so overwhelming it was suffocating came surging forward.
Those Xuan Niao Guards near Wu Jiu had no strength to resist at all—like withered leaves swept away by a gale, they were pressed to the ground one after another, letting out agonized groans.
Mu Yun’s situation looked slightly better, but he was merely barely holding on.
His legs trembled slightly, and finally, he dropped to one knee with a heavy thud, his knee colliding with the ground and producing a dull sound.
The ground beneath Mu Yun’s feet couldn’t bear the weight, and tiny cracks began to appear, spreading rapidly outward like hideous spider webs.
After a few breaths, Mu Yun’s body, along with the collapsing ground, slowly sank in a few inches.
Every inch of air seemed to transform into heavy shackles, binding Mu Yun tightly.
Mu Yun unwillingly raised his head slowly, a flash of cold light passing through his eyes.
That cold killing intent, like a poisoned blade, stabbed straight toward Wu Jiu, as if he wanted to carve his face into the deepest part of his memory.
He stared at Wu Jiu like that, his eyes seeming to say:
Wu Jiu, you damned old bastard—just you wait, Director.
Don’t let me catch an opportunity, or else I, the Director, will make you, you old piece of trash, pay a bitter price for today!
Meanwhile, across from him, Wu Jiu didn’t hesitate for a moment. His right hand beneath his sleeve instantly clenched into a fist, crushing even the invisible air.
In an instant, a purple light burst forth from the palm of his right hand.
That thick purple gang essence, like a nimble miniature dragon, danced and coiled in Wu Jiu’s right palm, radiating a chilling aura.
Before Mu Yun could react, Wu Jiu had already fiercely swung his right arm—the motion fast as lightning.
In an instant, that purple gang essence streak, condensed with terrifying power, shot out from Wu Jiu’s right palm with unstoppable momentum.
Wherever the purple gang essence streak passed, thick smoke billowed up, rushing straight toward Mu Yun.
At that very moment, Mu Yun mustered all his strength, forcibly resisting the terrifying heaven-and-earth pressure of the Wu family ancestor.
Mu Yun’s face turned red, veins bulging, bean-sized sweat drops rolling continuously from his forehead.
Every inch of his flesh was taut, as if he had already exhausted every ounce of his strength.
Suddenly, a thread of gang essence—extremely faint, almost imperceptible—quietly seeped out from within Mu Yun’s body.
This thread of gang essence, like a nimble gossamer, instantly merged into the sword behind his back.
This sword was Mu Yun’s ever-present weapon—the Six-Pattern Star-Rank Sacrificial Artifact, the Qingming Sword.
As this thread of Mu Yun’s gang essence surged into the Qingming Sword, in an instant, a dazzling azure light suddenly burst forth.
The next second, the Qingming Sword actually moved on its own without wind, letting out a soft “hum,” and swiftly flew to hover quietly in front of Mu Yun.
Then, the Qingming Sword’s blade trembled slightly, as if gathering power.
After that, it fiercely slashed forward through the air, and a dazzling azure sword light shot out from the void.
This sword light, carrying sharp sword energy, directly collided with the purple gang essence streak released by Wu Jiu.
However, this sword light that Mu Yun released in haste ultimately had insufficient gang essence injected into it, causing the heaven-and-earth origin power it invoked to be greatly diminished.
In midair, after the azure sword light collided with Wu Jiu’s purple gang essence streak—which carried tremendous power—
In just an instant, the azure sword light rapidly dimmed under the surging impact of the purple gang essence, and was then mercilessly annihilated by it.
Without the azure sword light to block it, the purple gang essence streak didn’t lose any momentum. Carrying a residual might like overturning mountains and seas, it slammed straight toward Mu Yun.
Mu Yun had no time to react at all—he only felt an irresistible tremendous force crash into him.
His entire body, as if struck by lightning, was uncontrollably blasted backward at extreme speed.
Mu Yun’s body, like a meteor, carved a deep trench into the ground, brutally tearing through the thick surface layer of the earth.
For a moment, dust flew everywhere, and gravel scattered in all directions.
Wu Jiu’s eyes narrowed slightly, a cold gleam flashing briefly in the depths of his gaze. He slowly reined in the earth-shattering killing intent in his heart.
“Hmph!”
He let out a cold snort, feeling somewhat regretful.
Originally, Wu Jiu had planned to definitely inflict heavy damage on Mu Yun, that arrogant fool who didn’t know his place, to teach him the consequences of offending the Wu family.
But who could have predicted that Mu Yun would actually grasp that sliver of opportunity at the critical moment?
Temporarily using the heaven-and-earth origin power of his sacrificial artifact, he had greatly reduced the power of that full-force attack.
“So this is a Half-Step Divine Manor realm martial artist?”
Wu Jiu mused inwardly, feeling both unwillingness and a trace of wariness.
He now had to admit that the Half-Step Divine Manor realm indeed possessed power far beyond that of an Outer Gang Grandmaster.
Earlier, if this Mu Yun hadn’t been at the Half-Step Divine Manor realm—
Under the overwhelming, terrifying heaven-and-earth pressure of the Wu family ancestor—
An Outer Gang Grandmaster realm martial artist, no matter how they struggled, would only be fighting a futile battle, ultimately able to do nothing but wait for death.
Ah!
What a pity—if this Mu Yun didn’t have that Xuan Niao Guard identity, Wu Jiu really would have wanted to strike again and slap this Mu Yun to death.
Ah!
After all, letting a Half-Step Divine Manor realm Xuan Niao Guard who secretly harbored hatred toward him go free—
Even as a member of the Wu family, one of the Eight Great Families, who prided himself on deep foundations, Wu Jiu couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Who could know what methods this resentful Mu Yun might use in the shadows to retaliate in the future?
As Wu Jiu’s thoughts churned, he gently raised the cane in his left hand, his figure shifting and maneuvering like a ghost.
With a few leaps and bounds, Wu Jiu had already arrived beside Mu Yun.
He looked down at Mu Yun, seeing his entire body covered in bloodstains, utterly bedraggled.
Seeing this, Wu Jiu couldn’t help but reveal a look of satisfaction on his face. “Heh heh heh!”
A burst of extremely gleeful laughter spilled from his mouth, the laughter sharp yet carrying a trace of twisted delight, wantonly spreading through the surrounding air.
“Director Mu,” Wu Jiu deliberately dragged out the ending, his tone sinister, “you’d better obediently tell me where that wretched brat Lu Xuan actually is, otherwise…”
Wu Jiu didn’t finish his sentence.
But the cold killing intent in his words spread through the air like something tangible—anyone could hear the threat in his voice.
However, the only response to Wu Jiu was a dead, silent stillness.
Mu Yun was still pinned to the ground by that powerful force, unable to move.
His eyes were wide open, the killing intent in his gaze so thick it seemed about to condense into something solid.
Seeing this, a flash of resolve passed through Wu Jiu’s eyes.
He knew well that against an opponent like Mu Yun—Half-Step Divine Manor realm and harboring hatred—he absolutely could not afford to be soft-hearted. He had to strike first.
“It seems I can’t let you live!”
Wu Jiu forcefully squeezed these words out through his teeth.
In his view, if he didn’t deal with Mu Yun soon, he might really stumble at the hands of this troublesome fellow in the future—capsize in a ditch.
Wu Jiu’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. In an instant, the five fingers of his right hand were wrapped in thick purple light, like five sinister pythons breathing purple mist, radiating a cold and dangerous aura.
Immediately after, his arm, carrying a gust of fierce wind, like a black lightning bolt, chopped fiercely straight toward Mu Yun’s face.
The speed was so fast it almost tore through the air—without the slightest hesitation.
Because in Wu Jiu’s heart, he had already weighed the pros and cons and made up his mind.
This strike was only meant to cripple Mu Yun’s cultivation, turn him into a waste, and leave him a dog’s life to linger in this world.
After all, killing a Xuan Niao Guard and merely crippling his cultivation were two completely different matters.
With the former, Wu Jiu would undoubtedly die afterward. With the latter, there was still a sliver of room to maneuver.
Wu Jiu knew all too well that the Xuan Niao Guard, as the elite force directly under that Empress, was heavily relied upon by the Empress.
If he truly killed Mu Yun without regard for consequences, with the Empress’s thunderous methods, she absolutely would not let the Wu family off easily.
At that time, the entire Wu family could be dragged into this catastrophic disaster.
By then, perhaps there would be no need for that Empress to hand down punishment.
His own family’s several ancestors, in order to quell the Empress’s fury, would without hesitation slap him to death.
Offering his life as a scapegoat to calm the storm.
However, just as Wu Jiu’s right palm was about to touch Mu Yun’s face—
A sudden change occurred!
Wu Jiu felt his right arm suddenly freeze, as if it had instantly plunged into extremely hot, boiling magma.
An indescribable burning pain shot up along the meridians of his right arm, causing Wu Jiu excruciating agony.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Jiu’s entire right arm, at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye—
Inch by inch, bit by bit, turned to ash.
Fine blackened powder drifted slowly through the air, and some of it even landed on Wu Jiu’s old face.
In that instant, a pitch-black, profound shadow—as if it could devour everything—silently shrouded over, completely covering Wu Jiu’s slightly hunched figure.
Wu Jiu was startled, his hair standing on end. Almost instinctively, he instantly raised his head and stared toward the source of this shadow.
“Lu Xuan!”
The moment he saw who it was, Wu Jiu’s eyes bulged round, full of disbelief and fury.
He roared through gritted teeth, “It’s you again, you wretched brat, playing tricks!”
To Wu Jiu’s furious roar, Lu Xuan seemed not to hear it at all. His expression was cold and stern, his gaze passing straight over the other.
Then, his gaze firmly focused on Wu Jiu’s forehead, where that strange purple pattern was.
“Origin spirit power again, huh?”
Lu Xuan murmured softly, his voice not loud, yet carrying complete certainty.
While Lu Xuan’s voice still echoed in the air, a vast and terrifying divine sense origin spirit power came crashing out from within him.
Wherever this divine sense origin spirit power reached, the air was stirred into violent churning.
That mysterious heaven-and-earth pressure that had originally filled the surroundings, pressing the Xuan Niao Guards to the point of near-suffocation—
Under the impact of Lu Xuan’s divine sense, it actually crumbled and dissolved rapidly.
All the Xuan Niao Guards present, including Mu Yun, had their full strength restored to peak condition at this moment.
When Wu Jiu sensed countless gazes filled with murderous intent stabbing toward him, the color drained from his face instantly, and panic arose in his heart.
At this moment, Wu Jiu no longer had any of his previous arrogance. He hurriedly spoke, his voice unconsciously carrying a tremble: “Lu Xuan, don’t you dare do anything reckless!”
As he spoke, he unconsciously took half a step back, his eyes full of terror and unease.
“I represent the Wu family—I came to negotiate with you!”
Wu Jiu tried to stabilize the situation with words, but his forced calm could hardly conceal the fear within.
