by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
But there was one benefit for them: they would be less noticeable at night.
“Yesterday, eight of you came. Just now, you killed one of them, so there are only seven left. Junior master Huo, please give me an explanation for this,” said Long Chen to Huo Wufang.
“Uh...” Huo Wufang was immediately speechless. He hadn’t expected Long Chen had long since obtained proof. Now that it had been exposed in front of the Tower Ancestor, he didn’t have any opportunity to make a comeback.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? You can say that they have nothing to do with you,” reminded Long Chen.
“I had no idea about this matter!” raged Huo Wufang.
“You didn’t know about it? Didn’t you already admit to it just now? Everyone heard it. Furthermore, weren’t they all at your Huo family yesterday?” sneered Long Chen.
Huo Wufang began to sweat. This move of his was too vicious. He had no way to admit to this.
“Cough, those children are just too young and not sensible enough. It’s common for them to do foolish things in their hotheadedness. Wufang had no idea about this matter. Let me take his place to apologize to you,” said Huo Changsheng.
“Tch, does an apology have any use? Stretch your neck out here and let me cut it with my blade. Then I’ll apologize to you,” said Long Chen disdainfully.
“Long San, all things have their reasons. My Huo family might have been in the wrong this time, but you also went too far. Don’t try to act like the victim. Don’t go too far!” Huo Changsheng had a stomach full of fury, but in front of the Tower Ancestor, he didn’t dare release it. However, the threat in his words was obvious.
“Don’t go too far? Hahaha, just how laughable is this phrase when it comes from your Huo family’s mouth? Your Huo family has committed so many atrocities, but who dares to bully you? If anyone tried, wouldn’t they be killed by you? It’s just like Long Chen. In the chaos region, your Huo family secretly incited the Corrupt path into killing him. Just who is going too far?”
“What nonsense! Don’t slander others!” Huo Changsheng was infuriated, but also incomparably shocked. This matter was something only the higher-ups of the Xuantian Dao Sect knew of. To protect this secret, the Huo family had paid a huge sum of hush money.
The Xuantian Dao Sect was an enormous existence. It was so powerful that they didn’t even need to send someone to Huo Wufang’s wedding.
In reality, the Xuantian Dao Sect’s headquarters had relationships with Pill Valley. They could simply ignore the Huo family. The Xuantian Dao Sect had required compensation for what the Huo family had done to Long Chen. But this compensation was mostly for the Shui family, or the Shui family might continue to make a huge deal out of this.
After making the Huo family pay a painful price, the Xuantian Dao Sect hadn’t mentioned this topic again. It was completely unexpected for Long San to raise it now. Not only was Huo Changsheng shocked and infuriated, he was also a bit panicked.
It had to be known that the Tower Ancestor possessed an extremely high status and authority. The Tower Ancestors were in charge of selecting talented people to bring to Pill Valley. Although this Tower Ancestor wasn’t in charge of disciplinary actions, if he were to report this, their Huo family would be doomed.
“Slander others? Am I, Long San, someone who would do that? I’m sure everyone will understand once they see this.” Long Chen directly activated a photographic jade.
When a scene appeared in midair, Huo Changsheng’s expression completely changed. That scene was the same one the Xuantian Dao Sect had shown him.
Space suddenly trembled. That scene had only just appeared when the Tower Ancestor waved his hand. The image froze and then faded.
“We’ve gone off-topic. Continuing like this will have no end. I’m rather old, and my time is precious. Let’s handle this matter quicker. I understand the general situation. Your Huo family truly did kidnap Long San’s woman.”
“Tower Ancestor, we didn’t-!” cried Huo Wufang.
The Tower Ancestor waved his hand. “Whether or not you did, Long San has proof that you kidnapped her, while you have no proof that you didn’t. Yesterday, you snatched Long San’s woman, and today, Long San snatched your woman. The result is that Long San is satisfied, but you are displeased, feeling like you lost out.
“Then how about this: we will follow the traditional rules of the world to settle this. This is what it means for a champion to have beauties. You two can have a decisive battle, and the winner will obtain the beauty. Do you accept?”
“I accept! I’ve long since found this fellow to be displeasing. This time, I’ll give him a proper beating!” said Long Chen. This situation was all too perfect. To give Huo Wufang a vicious beating at this time, what could be better?
Huo Wufang glared at Long Chen, his eyes practically spitting flames. “I also-”
“Huo Wufang accepts his defeat.”
Suddenly, Huo Changsheng’s words caused everyone to be stunned.
Chapter 685 Above Sea Expansion
This concession shocked everyone, including Long Chen. This was admitting defeat! Not only would they lose their woman, but they would also lose all their faces.
“Grandfather!” Huo Wufang was extremely unwilling.
“It’s just a woman. If you want to play, you have to be able to accept losing. Furthermore, with your status, what woman couldn’t you get?”
Huo Changsheng turned to Long Chen. “This time, my Huo family admits defeat. But this game still isn’t over. The final winner is something we’ll only know in the future. As for you, you’re just a chess piece. When you run out of use, hehe, I want to see just what you’ll do.”
After saying that, Huo Changsheng didn’t give Long Chen any chance to reply. He directly bowed to the Tower Ancestor and led his people away.
…
BANG!
A delicate jade chessboard was viciously thrown to the ground, shattering into pieces. It was like the destruction of this chessboard could relieve some of Huo Wufang’s anger.
“Grandfather, why did you have me admit defeat?! I’m confident in being able to kill Long San!” raged Huo Wufang.
“You’re looking down on Long San too much. He’s extremely strong. If you were to fight now, you’d only have a fifty percent chance of winning. For a woman, you would expose your strength? It’s extremely unworthy. Right now, this game of chess has only been half-played.
“The Fang family has managed to obtain a strong piece, and the situation seems favorable to them for now. But that doesn’t mean that they have any chance of winning.
“Furthermore, your bones haven’t completely adapted to you. You still need more time. When they’re perfectly adapted, won’t you be able to exterminate Long San with a wave of your hand?
“The most important thing for you is to focus on the finals. If you can take first place, hmph, then the Fang and Chai families will all die without a burial ground,” said Huo Changsheng.
Huo Wufang said, “But that Long San is extremely strange. His alchemy arts are too profound to see through. If I killed him today, wouldn’t first place be in my pocket?”
Huo Changsheng shook his head. “You’re thinking too simply. Even assuming you could defeat him, the Tower Ancestor wouldn’t have let you kill him.”
Huo Wufang said, “What cultivation base does the Tower Ancestor have for you to be this deferential to him?”
Huo Changsheng sighed, “Originally, I thought that the person in charge of the Pill Emperor Competition would be the tower administrator. I never expected a Tower Ancestor to personally come. The reason I have to be deferential toward him is both because of his supreme authority as well as the fact that he is an Ancestor-level expert.”
“Ancestor-level? What realm is that?” asked Huo Wufang.
“The Ancestor level is just a nickname, referring to the leaders and ancestors of the top sects. Their actual realm is above Sea Expansion, and is called Foundation Forging. Foundation F
orging experts are peak existences in the Eastern Wasteland. Such experts only exist within the supreme sects.
“But such figures are so powerful that we rarely come into contact with them. Let alone Foundation Forging experts, I’ve rarely even seen any half-step Foundation Forging experts,“ said Huo Changsheng.
“Grandfather, aren’t you at the peak of Sea Expansion? According to reason, aren’t you just one step away from Foundation Forging?”
“Hehe, that’s not entirely correct. The so-called Sea Expansion realm refers to expanding the qi sea. The goal is to push the qi sea to the greatest possible size.
“Someone at Sea Expansion has more than a hundred times the spiritual yuan of someone at the peak of the Xiantian realm. The Xiantian realm is just a stepping stone. Only when you reach Sea Expansion will your qi sea grow to an immense size. It won’t just be able to store spiritual yuan, but you’ll also be able to summon your qi sea manifestation when you fight.
“Only by reaching Sea Expansion can you truly control heaven and earth’s energy, using magical arts to kill your opponents. It is a dividing line in the cultivation world.
“Celestials are said to be able to battle across realms. In Meridian Opening, they can dominate the Xiantian realm. But Celestials that reach the Xiantian realm will find it difficult to fight against Sea Expansion.
“That’s because Sea Expansion experts can rely on their control of natural energy to resist the suppression of the Cry of the Heavenly Daos. So although there are some Xiantian Celestials capable of fighting Sea Expansion experts, that only refers to the early stage. Being able to fight against the mid stage is not very likely, let alone the late stage.
“Well, in truth, even knowing these things doesn’t have any use to you. You should adjust your mental state and focus on alchemy. Reach your peak state for the finals!”
“Yes, grandfather. I know. I’ll take first place, and at that time, when the Chai and Fang families are exterminated, I’ll personally handle Long San and that slut Hua Biluo. I’ll make them live a life worse than death.” Huo Wufang clenched his teeth.
…
Long Chen couldn’t help feeling like something was strange as he watched Huo Changsheng and the others leave. This was a bit off from his expectations. Was the Huo family really just going to accept this loss?
Although he didn’t really understand it, at least Hua Biluo’s matter was settled. Long Chen cupped his fists toward the Tower Ancestor.
“Tower Ancestor is truly righteous and impartial, all-seeing and insightful, incorruptible, brilliant, and intelligent. Long San thanks you for carrying out justice.”
Chai Liehuo and Fang Chang couldn’t help but admire Long San. Just how had he cultivated his face? He didn’t even feel embarrassed about saying such fawning words.
“Haha, are all the children these days so interesting? You can continue with what you were doing. This old man doesn’t have the energy to accompany you. I am in charge of the finals, so try not to mess around too much. I won’t be able to keep up.”
After saying that, the Tower Ancestor directly left. The tower administrator hastily followed.
Fang Mingyuan and Chai Gaoyang hastily bowed. His final words were clearly a warning to them. While the competition was still going on, they should be more careful.
Although the Tower Ancestor seemed like a benevolent senior, this kind of person’s fury never revealed itself on the face. But if they did anger him, they would be doomed.
The Fang and Chai families’ people also left now. In the end, Long San was the greatest winner. He had managed to snatch Huo Wufang’s woman.
This news traveled throughout the large powers. It was absolutely shocking. Despite how powerful the Huo family was, their bride had been snatched away. It was said that the Huo family was indescribably furious because of this, and they went to the Hua family and cursed them. They threatened them, saying that if they didn’t give the Huo family a satisfactory explanation, they should just wait for the consequences.
Obviously, the Huo family was releasing their rage on the Hua family. Due to Hua Biluo, the Huo family had lost all their face.
Long Chen ignored all of this. When he returned to the Fang family, he directly brought Hua Biluo to his new room.
“Haha, beauty Hua, we meet again,” he laughed. Long Chen had always owed Hua Biluo a debt.
Although Hua Biluo had originally chosen to stay neutral in the final battle of the Jiuli secret realm due to Huo Wufang’s threat, she had still firmly stood by Long Chen’s side when the Corrupt path had joined in.
Long Chen had been in a desperate situation back then. For her to have helped him at that time was not just because of their cooperation. It involved the trust between them.
“Long Chen, you really are a demon.” Hua Biluo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was like it was fated that wherever Long Chen went, pandemonium would follow. He always did things out of people’s expectations.
“Hehe, why stay bored? It’s much more fun for everyone to laugh and celebrate together.” Long Chen laughed and had Hua Biluo sit, handing her a cup of tea. “Here, taste some of this five flavor mythic pine tea. Hehe, this is something special to the Pill Tower, and outsiders can’t even buy it.”
Hua Biluo smiled and received the tea. Lightly sipping it, a burst of fragrance enveloped her. Just a sip of this could completely refresh a person’s mind.
“It seems you have it very good here. Are you planning on changing professions?” Hua Biluo smiled.
“Why would I change professions? Alchemy is just a side hobby. It was the Huo family who attacked me first. All I’m doing is striking back. Hehe, I’m not doing too bad. In this first round, I managed to win such a beautiful wife,” teased Long Chen.
Hua Biluo reddened and rebuked, “If you tease me like this, it’d be strange if Tang Wan-er didn’t beat you into a pancake when she finds out.”
“Her? Tch, you underestimate her.” Long Chen shook his head.
“What? She won’t beat you?” asked Hua Biluo.
“I said you underestimated her. I was referring to how you said she’d beat me into a pancake. You just don’t understand her. When she beats up people, she never cares about the shape,” sighed Long Chen. A helpless expression appeared on his face. It had been a long time since he had bullied that fiery girl. Who knew how much she missed him right now?
Hua Biluo covered her mouth and laughed. “Hahaha, you are really entertaining. No wonder all those peerless beauties are so devoted to you.”
Long Chen shamelessly said, “But of course. Isn’t that why I previously said that if you go with me, you’ll wake up every morning from laughter?”
Hua Biluo blushed. She recalled her acting with him. Thinking of her intimate actions, she couldn’t help being embarrassed.
Seeing that Hua Biluo wasn’t used to this kind of teasing, Long Chen changed the subject. “What are your plans now?”
Hua Biluo sighed sadly. “What can I do? My family has already abandoned me. They clearly knew what kind of person Huo Wufang was, but to curry favor, they still gave me away.”
Her voice might be calm, but her eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger. Recalling those apathetic faces, she was filled with endless hate.
Long Chen asked some simple questions about her situation. She was truly in a pitiful state. She had no one to rely on.
He hesitated for a moment. In the end, he made his determination. “Hua Biluo, if I could let you become a Celestial, what would you do?”
“What?”
Chapter 686 Merging the Ingredients
In the end, Long Chen still decided to make Hua Biluo a Celestial. After all, her current situation was because of him. A man should take responsibility.
But Long Chen didn’t directly give her a Heavenly Dao Fruit. Instead, he decided that he would refine the Heavenly Dao Fruit into a medicinal pill first.
One reason was because he didn’t want her to know about the hea
ven-defying Heavenly Dao Fruits he had. He couldn’t reveal this to anyone he didn’t have absolute trust in.
The other reason was that this was beneficial to Hua Biluo. She would be able to refine it even faster.
That night, Hua Biluo slept in Long Chen’s room. Although she was already a Xiantian expert, she had been tormented mentally for many days. She was exhausted. Having finally had all her burdens relieved, she slept peacefully on Long Chen’s bed.
On the other hand, Long Chen didn’t sleep. He was busy thinking of a follow-up plan. From the top to the bottom, there was no one good in the Huo family. This time, he would pull them out by their roots.
His original plan had to be put on pause. From the Tower Ancestor’s words, it was obvious he wouldn’t allow them to do anything during this time. He would have to wait until after the competition, until after the Tower Ancestor and the others had left.
Fang Mingyuan had told Long Chen that although their two families were not as strong as the Huo family, they still had the ability to fight them. The only problem was that the Huo family had too many guests. They were their henchmen, and they possessed terrifying strength.
However, if Long Chen could take first place, the situation would reverse. Those people siding with the Huo family would likely change sides to become neutral. Before they knew who the final winner would be, they wouldn’t rashly choose a side.
“Tch, seems like I really must get the first place. But I still don’t know what the prize is… I really look forward to it.” Long Chen sipped his tea. Only now did he realize the day had already brightened. Seeing Hua Biluo was still peacefully sleeping, he knew just how much she must have suffered these days. He didn’t disturb her.
Gently opening the door and closing it behind him, he took a breath of fresh air. He went to go find Fang Chang.
But he had only just left his room when he saw Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo sitting there, chatting.
