Jiang Chen was incensed.
The voice sounded well advanced in years, but the young man was indescribably disgusted with the self-satisfaction in its seniority.
âIf I donât kill him, do you not think a foreign hyena like him will bring disaster to the human domain? The Order of Wind and Cloudâs ambitions are quite peaceful, Iâm sure!â Jiang Chenâs tone carried plenty of righteous passion. âIf you have the power to interfere, then you are no ordinary person. Why not show yourself? Let me know who you are.â
Though he didnât know where this interloper had come from, Jiang Chenâs rage wasnât likely to subside. He hated people who didnât mind their business, especially when they interrupted at the most inopportune times.
âYou have quite a temper for one so young. Thereâs no need to ask where Iâve come from. Iâve lived in the human domain for more than ten thousand years. I think I know ten times more about the human domainâs affairs than you.â
Ten thousand years?
Jiang Chenâs heart beat a bit faster. The expressions of the great emperors from Veluriyam Capital changed greatly.
A secluded expert? One that lived in the human domain? An empyrean expert?
There had always been rumors that the human domain did have its own empyrean experts, though they preferred to remain hidden rather than conduct business in public.
Some said that the experts were uninterested in mundane affairs. Others claimed that this was because spirit qi was scarce in the human domain. Yet others said that the experts were unwilling to expend their mortal lifespans on trivial matters.
There was a large variety of conjecture about the topic. However, no one had seen a real, live empyrean expert in the human domain for at least three thousand years.
The voiceâs existence hinted at its identity as a secluded expert of the human domain. Any existence that had lived for more than ten thousand years was sure to have surpassed great emperor realm into a higher form.
It was the first time these great emperors had ever come into contact with someone like that.
Jiang Chen paused a little, then snickered. âFrom your tone, you sound like an empyrean senior of the human domain, hmm?â
âWhat? Junior, do you still think you can call the shots here? Do you think your actions represent the fortune and future of humanity? I can tell you that you think too much of yourself!â The aged voice was somewhat mocking. It appeared that its owner had a bit of attitude toward Jiang Chen.
Veluriyamâs young lord was far from pleased to be treated with condescension. He responded with raucous laughter.
âWhat are you laughing about, junior?â The voice reprimanded with some annoyance.
âWhat am I laughing about?â Jiang Chen turned frosty instantly. âIs that what youâre asking about? Iâm laughing about the fact that you lack wisdom in your old age! All you know is to use your age to your benefit!â
âYouâre courting death!â The disembodied voiceâs volume intensified. The wind picked up and the clouds roiled.
The eight stone golem brothers rushed to Jiang Chenâs side and surrounded him to protect their savior.
Jiang Chen was unafraid of the sudden weather change. Heâd seen all kinds of turbulence in his previous life and he wasnât going to let a mere empyrean expert scare him.
âSuch an awe-inspiring show from an empyrean expert!â Jiang Chen sneered. âAlas, it appears you were absent when Demon Emperor Bloodmalva of the blood demons was rampaging about. You were also absent from the scene when the celestial demon lord broke free of his seal. And if I may ask, where were you when the Southern Celestial Tribe smashed past the Boundary Stele? What about the devastation that the Order of Wind and Cloud has wrought upon the people? Have you done anything about the danger that the Boundary Stele in the northwestern wastes is in right now?â
Jiang Chen was absolutely furious. He had no inborn hostility to the voice, but he was enraged by the foolishness of the speakerâs actions. He was actually disgusted more by this voice than by Xiahou Jing.
Xiahou Jing was a locust from Myriad Abyss Island, come to the human domain to ransack and destroy it.
But this supposed empyrean senior of the human domain had appeared at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons. Heâd ruined Jiang Chenâs perfect plans. Most irritating of all was that he was abusing his old age to rebuke Jiang Chen from a self-satisfied position!
If the voice really was an honorable senior with morals as polished as Emperor Peafowlâs, Jiang Chen would give him plenty of respect. But he was far from the shining example he considered himself to be, but he was quite affecting the tone and posture of a great senior.
This utterly disgusted Jiang Chen. Moreover, the young lord had missed an opportunity to kill Xiahou Jing because of the voiceâs interference. How could Jiang Chen simply accept the situation?
He had worked very hard for humanityâs fortune and future, expending every effort for othersâ sake. This so-called empyrean senior had done absolutely nothing in several of humanityâs crises, but chose to come out swinging with his cane at the most inopportune time.
If he did dare come forth, Jiang Chen wouldnât hesitate to spit on him.
The voice was noticeably exasperated by the young manâs words. It went silent for a long while before it could muster up a resentful reply. âAlright, brat. Alright! How many years has it been? I didnât expect that a few thousand years later, there would be such a high-achieving human junior who dares talk like this to me!â
âIf youâve hid yourself for a few thousand years,â Jiang Chen retorted with some frustration. âShouldnât you have freed yourself from the shackles of mortal affairs? Why are you meddling and sticking your nose where it doesnât belong? You didnât come out when responsibility was required, so donât come out and pretend to be a savior now. At least figure out whatâs happening before you try to save the world.â
The voice was clearly agitated. âGood, good, very good! Iâll remember whatâs happened today, brat. One day Iâll teach you the consequences of not respecting your seniors!â
Jiang Chen shrugged. Insubstantial threats didnât bother him one bit.
âWhy one day? Todayâs perfect. Do your worst and Iâll take the brunt of it. What else are you scared of if you help even invaders escape?â He didnât know why, but Jiang Chen had the urgent need to pull the old codger out of his hiding hole and give him a good beating. He wanted to cut the voiceâs pride down a notch.
âHmph. I have more important matters to attend to. Iâll let you live for a few more days.â The voice disappeared into the distance like rolling thunder.
Jiang Chenâs Evil Golden Eye pierced the remote skies, his eyes full of killing intent.
It was at this time that the others swarmed out from Sacred Peafowl Mountain.
âMembers of the Order of Wind and Cloud, kneel! Those who donât will die on the spot!â Jiang Chen glared coldly at the now listless grunts.
These ordinary Order members were largely human domain cultivators. Now that their supreme lord had fled in panic, anyone that had the ability and mind to run had already fled. Those that hadnât lacked the sufficient spirit to fight to the death.
As such, there was a wave of kneeling at Jiang Chenâs command. There was no room for modesty or egoism before the grimness of death. Theyâd already lost all sense of self-respect when they joined the Order.
âJiao Yun, Jiao Feng, tell me which of these joined the Order of their own volition and which were coerced into it. The former is to be executed on the spot and the latter let go, depending on circumstances.â Jiang Chen had no desire to execute every former Order member.
Many had been strong-armed into their ranks. Those left at Agarwood Valleyâs entrance a few years ago, for example: Emperor Peerless, the Jiao brothers, and others.
There was no need to seek any kind of reckoning against these people. Their hearts had never been to the Order in the first place. They were just victims of the circumstances.
It was at this time that Madame Yun approached him with reddened eyes. âSage brother Jiang Chen, Iâve never asked anything much of anyone. But this time, I have to make a desperate request. Please, save my dearest Mo!â
Jiang Chen was shocked. He hurriedly took the ladyâs arms. âMadame, please relax. As my good brotherâs wife, you are free to ask anything of me at your leisure.â
But Madame Yun was inconsolable.
To the side, Emperor Peerless was a little embarrassed. âExcuse the lack of decorum, young lord Jiang Chen. Women are sometimes a bit more emotional than polite.â
âAh, please explain what is exactly wrong, Old Brother Mo.â Jiang Chen quickly replied. âYour wifeâs sadness means this is no small matter.â
âThe supreme lord of the Order of Wind and Cloud fed the Orderâs members a certain âExultation Pill of Wind and Cloudâ,â Coiling Dragon followed up. âItâs a potent poison, and victims may be hard to save after it acts.â
Jiang Chen tensed when he heard this. âOld Brother Mo.â He glanced at the man. âAnd what happened to your face?â
Emperor Peerless chuckled. âNothing much. Thereâs no need to mention it.â
âYoung lord, Brother Mo is a righteous man,â Coiling Dragon advised. âHis loyalty to humanity and Sacred Peafowl Mountain are well-tested. He did that himself to avoid detection from those familiar with him, so that he could stay hidden within the Order.â
âIt was something that couldnât be helped, really,â Emperor Peerless smiled wryly. âThe Order gathered many human experts together. Even wandering cultivator giants like Emperors Everviolet and Sabledeep joined up. Many of them know me, hence this unfortunate plan. Plus, the special bloodline abilities Iâve been cultivating lately masked much of my original martial dao. The two combined meant that I was able to successfully fool them.â
Jiang Chen was both affected and respectful when he heard what the emperor had relayed.
âOld Brother Mo, Madame Yun. Donât worry. Iâll find an antidote for the Exultation Pill. I may not have full confidence in other areas, but I can cure pretty much any removable poison!ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Emperor Peerless wouldnât have believed this of anyone else. After all, he knew firsthand how fearsome the Exultation Pill was. However, the fact that Jiang Chen was the speaker convinced him a great deal.
âMy friends, the impression I got from the voice before was that it belonged to an empyrean expert in the human domain. Do any of you know what secluded experts we have?â Jiang Chen hadnât forgotten about the events that had just happened.
The appearance of secluded expert made him even more anxious than before. The situation in the human domain was becoming more and more complicated.
After crushing the northern alliance and slaying Pillzenith, Jiang Chen had thought the situation here to be within his grasp. It seemed that he had been too naïve.
The rise of the Order and the appearance of a hermit empyrean expert... all signs pointed toward things in the human domain gradually coming to a boil.
Jiang Chen swept his eyes across everyone before him. Unfortunately, he gleaned no useful information from what he saw. Evidently, most of the human domain thought hermit experts to be too far beyond their own realms of expertise...