Chapter 241: Chapter 236: Obsession Gu
The Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder was already over three hundred years old. In terms of seniority, he had no idea where he even ranked anymore. But it was this very same elder who, in front of millions of people, had just been slapped resoundingly across the face. He couldn’t preserve his dignity no matter what. "Yun Feng, what are you waiting for? Attack! There’s only one of them! No matter how high his Martial Artist Realm is, as long as we tie him down, we can crush this Xuanling Empire!"
"Crush the Xuanling Empire?" Elder Mu chuckled, his voice dripping with mockery.
With that, Elder Mu raised his arm and slapped the air again. With a crisp SLAP, another red palm print appeared on the Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder’s face.
"I’ll give you ’crush’!"
SLAP!
"Crush this!"
SLAP!
"Who do you think you are?"
SLAP!
"Still want to crush the Xuanling Empire?"
SLAP!
"To hell with your ’crushing’!"
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
A continuous stream of crisp slaps echoed through the air. Every time the Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder was hit, he was sent flying. But no matter how far he flew, and no matter how he tried to block with his Elemental Armor, it was useless. It was as if there was no way to decipher Elder Mu’s technique; as long as he wanted to slap him, he could. Moreover, Elder Mu hadn’t used a shred of Primordial Power from start to finish. This made everyone realize at once: the old man before them was on a completely different level of power!
Elder Mu casually swiped with his left hand, and a huge black rift materialized behind the Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder. The rift was bottomless, like the maw of a giant Magical Beast.
"Get back where you came from, you idiot!" Another slap flew through the air and struck the Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder’s face, directly knocking the already dazed elder into the Spatial Rift.
After all that, Elder Mu rubbed his wrist, curled his lip in disdain, and looked at the others standing in the air. "Still want to crush us? I’m not just saying this, but your Celestial Eagle Empire’s Crown Prince came to our Xuanling Empire to assassinate our people, and I haven’t even gone to you for trouble yet. And you have the nerve to serve yourselves up on a platter, looking for a fight? You’re not qualified! Damn, that old geezer’s face is tough. My hand is starting to tingle from hitting him. Who else wants to help me scratch it?"
GULP...
At that moment, almost everyone swallowed hard. The sound of millions of people gulping in unison was as loud as thunder. Xuan Yin and Wu Changqing’s mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg. Beside Wu Changqing, Elder Sun muttered, "What realm was that Heavenly Eagle Grand Elder... I seem to have forgotten..."
Without even closing his mouth, Wu Changqing mumbled, "I think... a Four-Ring Martial Venerable..."
Qin Yuan and Lingyun, stunned, said in unison, "Gods..."
"So... so strong..."
Qing Lei could no longer find the words to describe this absolute suppression. It was like a god toying with an ant, offering no chance of resistance. And that ant, the one with no power to resist, was a Four-Ring Martial Venerable, a Great Power in his own right!
Elder Mu said with some impatience, "Considering your empire’s existence keeps many surrounding empires in check, I won’t slaughter your people. Now, get lost immediately. Don’t ever try to set foot in the Xuanling Empire’s Domain again. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind making the Celestial Eagle Empire disappear from this continent. Don’t doubt my words. I have no interest in joking with you little guys."
With that, Elder Mu pointed to a distant desert area. A golden light flashed at his fingertip, and the desert suddenly collapsed. The surrounding space shattered, and countless grains of sand were sucked into the newly appeared spatial rifts. The rifts quickly merged, forming a black hole in an instant that devoured everything, pulling the entire collapsing desert region into it.
BOOM!
Another muffled boom sounded as Elder Mu pulled back his finger and clenched it into a fist. The black hole abruptly froze, and space itself solidified. The entire scene was frozen in time.
He Yunfeng’s expression froze when he saw this. The scene became utterly silent, and only after he snapped back to his senses did his voice tremble, "Space Control! A S... Saint!!"
Elder Mu snorted coldly. "You have some sharp eyes, at least." With that, Elder Mu’s will shifted, and the black hole vanished abruptly, leaving behind only a giant crater a thousand meters in diameter and a hundred meters deep, as if a meteorite had struck.
"Still not leaving?!" Elder Mu’s face was cold as he barked, but his voice exploded in their hearts like a peal of thunder.
He Yunfeng was completely defeated. He hurriedly said with utmost respect, "Milord, I’ll leave right away! Right away!!"
Though He Yunfeng was a thousand times unwilling, in the presence of a Saint, even a warrior at the Peak of Nine-Ring Martial Venerable was like an ant. He finally understood why the old man could slap the Grand Elder helpless from a distance with his bare hands. He finally understood why he kept calling them ’little guys’ and ’juniors.’ He finally understood why he said he could easily wipe the Celestial Eagle Empire off the continent—it was because he was a Saint! The pinnacle of existence on this continent! Forget his only son being killed; even if his entire clan had been slaughtered, when a Saint was willing to let you go, you left! What else could you do? Fight back? He could crush you with a single finger.
"Soldiers, we’re leaving! Now!" He Yunfeng’s expression was indescribably grim. He turned and led his army of a million back the way they came. Zhouhai’s face was full of reluctance, but after glancing at the thousand-meter-wide area that had vanished in a second, he swallowed hard and turned to leave as well.
Such a magnificent and grand army had arrived with overwhelming momentum, leading the people of several surrounding empires to believe the Xuanling Empire was finished this time. Who would have thought they had a Saint backing them? And they were so low-key about it! Even a Dynasty only had two Saints. One could imagine the Xuanling Empire’s new status, now approaching that of a High-class Empire. Although its territory was only the size of a pinky nail on the continent, from this day forward, no surrounding empire would dare to provoke the Xuanling Empire lightly.
Watching the million-strong enemy army retreat from the Xuanling Empire like a receding tide, Xuan Yin’s tense emotions finally relaxed. Almost simultaneously, all the high-ranking officials of the Xuanling Empire bowed deeply to Elder Mu, a gesture of respect he accepted with a clear conscience.
"Alright, the flies have all flown away. I should get back to being the old grandpa managing the Library Pavilion." As he said this, Elder Mu glanced pointedly at Mo Qing.
This made Mo Qing’s face flush red. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Elder Mu.
Qin Yuan frowned, bowed, and said, "Lord Saint..."
"Just call me Elder Mu. I don’t like that title. It’s a pain." Elder Mu cut her off before she could say more.
Qin Yuan was at a loss for words. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, "Elder Mu... no, perhaps I should call you Dean Shen Jianxin."
...
Qin Yuan’s words left everyone stunned. And as they were discussing this topic, the figures of Mu Chen and the handsome young man appeared with a SWISH in a beautiful, uninhabited mountain valley.
The handsome young man looked at the landscape before them and smiled. "I never thought a place so on the fringes of the continent would have scenery like this."
Looking at the surrounding scenery, Mu Chen took a deep breath and said, "Young Master Qin, if you have something to say, please say it directly."
The handsome young man snapped his folding fan shut with a SWISH. He looked at Mu Chen with eyes that glinted with wisdom, and after seeing that Mu Chen showed no sign of unease or emotion, he said with admiration, "Seeing is believing. You truly are a remarkable person. From that senior’s introduction earlier, you should have a rough idea of my background, but allow me to introduce myself formally."
"Tingyu Pavilion’s Young Master, Qin Shang."
’Tingyu Pavilion? One of the Nine Great Influences on the entire Extreme Martial Continent. And what did being the Young Master of Tingyu Pavilion mean? It meant that the entire next generation of Tingyu Pavilion would be under his control.’ Mu Chen was stunned. The handsome man standing before him was the future master of Tingyu Pavilion. ’Why would he seek me out?’
"Are you wondering why I sought you out?" Qin Shang asked, seeming to see right through Mu Chen’s thoughts.
Mu Chen looked up, his purple eyes glinting with questions. Qin Shang opened his folding fan again, clasped one hand behind his back, and gazed at the distant scenery. "I sought you out... for my younger sister."
Mu Chen was taken aback. "Your younger sister?"
Qin Shang nodded and said gently, "A year ago, at the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion in Frost Cold Town. Do you remember?"
"Qin Wu... she’s your sister?" Mu Chen’s pupils suddenly contracted as the memory of the figure holding a zither, standing protectively in front of him, resurfaced in his mind.
Qin Shang nodded, a hint of pain in his voice. "Yes, my sister is Qin Wu. A year has passed. After we parted that day in the Eternal Frozen Snowfield, my sister’s heart froze over when you disappeared."
Mu Chen asked, confused, "Froze her own heart? Why?"
"Why?" Qin Shang’s gaze drifted into the distance again. "At first, I also wanted to ask why. It wasn’t until I heard the sorrow in her zither music that I understood. She... had fallen in love with someone."
Mu Chen, having been enlightened a bit by Mu Bingling these past few days, was still confused. "The person she loves is..."
Qin Shang sighed. "It’s you, Mu Chen. And for that, I must apologize. I investigated you and found a lot of information. I know you want to say that your time together was short and there was nothing intimate between you, that you were just like friends."
"But sometimes, emotions are just that magical. For generations, Tingyu Pavilion has been centered around women, all of whom are exceptionally beautiful. They are gentle, skilled, and well-versed in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. All who meet them are captivated and adore them. So, to prevent our women from tarnishing the reputation of Tingyu Pavilion, a type of Gu is implanted in everyone when they are born or when they enter the Pavilion—the Obsession Gu."
"Once a woman is implanted with the Obsession Gu, she will be eternally faithful and never betray the first man she develops feelings for. Once this Gu is implanted, it can never be removed. As a member of Tingyu Pavilion, Xiaowu naturally couldn’t escape this fate. Originally, she was to be a sacrifice for a political marriage, wed to the Young Sect Master of the Turtle Spirit Sect, another of the Nine Great Influences."
Mu Chen sighed. ’This is the tragedy of large clans...’
"But at the time, Xiaowu didn’t like the Young Sect Master of the Turtle Spirit Sect at all. So one Mid-Autumn Festival, on the night of the full moon, while everyone was moon-gazing, she ran away on her own. She was gone for a year. During that year, I searched for her constantly. But when I found her and brought her back to Tingyu Pavilion, I discovered that she had already developed feelings for the one and only person in her life. Under the effects of the Obsession Gu, this feeling will subconsciously grow stronger and deeper, until eventually, even she can’t control its development, and it transforms into love."
"However, we cannot go back on our promise to the Turtle Spirit Sect. Xiaowu must still marry him, or it will cause conflict between our powers. And if Xiaowu marries him, under the influence of the Obsession Gu, it’s absolutely impossible for her to develop any feelings for the Young Sect Master of the Turtle Spirit Sect. In the end... she would most likely choose... to end her own life..."
