Chapter 468: Chapter 455: A Battle of Wits and Might, Zhuge Xian’Er’s Trump Card
Zhuge Xian’Er sat in her wheelchair, suspended in the air, quietly looking down below.
Behind her was a dark cloud, within which two indistinct figures stood, motionless.
Her voice was not very loud, yet it echoed throughout the entire Dark Moon Abyss.
Moreover, the sound penetrated the Grand Array, reaching inside the Array.
With just that simple sentence, she had subtly revealed her power.
The Grand Array below the Dark Moon Abyss rippled like water, and a faint, shimmering barrier of light materialized out of thin air.
Then, the light barrier seemed to tremble slightly as Shen Lang, his hands clasped behind his back, slowly ascended into the air, appearing outside the barrier.
Behind him stood three King Martial Realm Elder Ancestors, their bodies wreathed in divine, rosy mists. Their powerful Divine Thought locked onto Zhuge Xian’Er and the two figures above.
Zhuge Xian’Er had pictured Shen Lang in her mind thousands of times, but upon seeing him in the flesh, a glint of surprise still flashed in her eyes.
Over the years, she had seen many peerless prodigies from all realms, each one outstanding and as dazzling as the sun, capable of capturing everyone’s attention on any occasion.
However, the Shen Lang who rose from the Grand Array lacked such a dazzling radiance.
He had a tall, slender figure, clad in a tight-fitting black robe. An ancient long saber was slung across his back, and as his long hair danced in the wind, he gave off a wild and untamed aura.
He was not old, yet he carried an air of world-weariness and profound depth.
His eyes, in particular, were as deep as the vast, starry sky, as if they could see through all illusions and pierce through the past and future.
His facial features were chiseled like rock, resolute and cold.
But if one didn’t look at his eyes, many would assume he was just a youth who would be hard to pick out from a crowd.
In this era teeming with prodigies, Shen Lang was as deep as an abyss and as still as sunken water, vastly different from those so-called geniuses who shone with brilliant light.
Though he was fiendishly intelligent and breathtakingly talented, his aura was restrained, drawing no attention to himself.
This left Zhuge Xian’Er slightly surprised.
On the other side, Shen Lang knew the person who had been secretly contending with him would soon seek him out. He was also aware that they had been studying the Grand Array from the outside for some time.
However, he hadn’t expected it to be a young girl who looked even younger than himself.
Although he knew this gifted young woman was Shui Tianji’s daughter and couldn’t possibly be only fifteen or sixteen years old.
And now, this young girl sat in a wheelchair, her aura extremely weak, with a faint ring of strange black energy coiled around her legs.
With just a single glance, the two of them had already committed every detail of the other to memory.
Zhuge Xian’Er leaned forward slightly, offered a curtsy, and said softly, "Though this is the first time Xian’Er has met Brother Shen, I feel we have known each other in spirit for a long time. I wonder if Brother Shen could show mercy, in light of my previous actions, and spare my mother and my two Elder Uncles?"
Conversations between intelligent people required little pleasantry. Zhuge Xian’Er got straight to the point.
Shen Lang slowly shook his head and said, "I can sense your goodwill, but it’s not enough."
"Shui Tianji wants nothing more than to kill me. Both she and her helpers have Cultivation far superior to my own. If I let them leave, I would be placing myself in immense danger. It’s impossible for me to release the tiger back to the mountain based on your words alone."
"Leave this place. Otherwise, I will keep you here as well."
Just then, Shui Tianji’s hysterical voice came from within the Grand Array: "Xian’Er, don’t beg him! Get out of here... This man is a Demon!"
Shen Lang remained silent and made a hand gesture.
Immediately, Zhu Feng’s bloodcurdling scream and Shui Tianji’s cry of alarm came from within the Grand Array.
"Your clone’s Cultivation was merely at the Xuanwu Realm, yet you dared to use Blood Evil Soul-breaking Powder to ambush my family. You knew the Imperial Dragon Sect had dispatched numerous experts to hunt down the people of Blood Evil Island, yet you still brazenly charged toward Celestial Phoenix City. Your physical body was destroyed, yet you remained unrepentant and still sought to kill me... From beginning to end, the intelligence you’ve displayed is less than that of a three-year-old child."
"Now your pathetic life is in my hands. You’ve dragged your two senior brothers into a Killing Array where their lives hang by a thread, and you’ve even caused your own daughter to walk into danger... You are heartless, brainless, and ignorant, yet you still dare to shout at me?"
"If I weren’t giving your daughter face, do you think any of you would have lasted this long?"
Shen Lang’s icy voice drifted back and forth within the Dark Moon Abyss.
Inside the Grand Array, Zhu Feng seemed to have been heavily injured again. Shui Tianji, whose spirit was hiding in his body, cried out in anguish.
Outside the Grand Array, a pained expression crossed Zhuge Xian’Er’s face, but she said nothing.
"Shen Lang, this is Zhu Feng. Can you hear me out?"
Zhu Feng’s voice suddenly rang out, "A life for a life is the most it should be. It’s better to resolve enmity than to create it. If you insist on ending this with death, then how about you take my life in exchange for my senior brother and junior sister?"
"I am willing to trade my life for their freedom. And I promise you, I will convince my junior sister to swear a Heart Demon Blood Oath, that she will never be your enemy for all eternity!"
Shen Lang shook his head. "A so-called transaction must be built on a foundation of fairness. Your lives are already in my hands. Whether you live or die is a matter of a single thought from me. Trading your life for theirs... that transaction is absurd in itself."
"Then what will it take for you to agree to let them go?" Zhu Feng roared.
This King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven expert, in such a situation, was actually casting his own life aside, thinking only of his senior brother and junior sister. This made the expressions of the Elder Ancestors controlling the Grand Array turn very peculiar.
To be honest, if they were to fall into such a crisis, it was hard to say whether they could do the same.
"Senior brother, don’t beg him! At worst, we’ll fight to the bitter end!" Shui Tianji remained as arrogant and domineering as ever.
At this moment, the silent Zhuge Xian’Er suddenly spoke softly, "Mother, after all these years, why hasn’t your temperament changed at all? Did Father’s death not make you understand anything? You’re always so self-centered, so stubborn and opinionated..."
"I know it’s incredibly unfilial for a child to speak to their mother this way, but I’ve been holding these words in my heart for a long time."
"After all these years, you still don’t understand. Why couldn’t a man like Father, who could scheme against the entire world, foresee such a small crisis? He knew he was going to die, yet he still forged ahead without hesitation. Why did he do it?"
"Elder Zhu knew this was a trap, so why did he still accompany you here?"
"You’re always self-centered, blind to everything others do for you... Even now, when your life could be extinguished at any moment, you still think your own affairs are the most important, that your own hatred is the most important!"
"Elder Zhu is willing to trade his life for your freedom. Why don’t you stop and think, on what grounds? By what right should he do that, to sacrifice himself for you like this?"
"Do you really think it’s only natural that he and Elder Tang would do this for you?"
"Why can’t you understand? They don’t owe you anything. On the contrary... you owe them far, far too much. And even now, you are still shamelessly and frantically taking from them!"
Zhuge Xian’Er seemed to forget that Shen Lang was right in front of her as she recounted the past, word by word.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her sorrowful expression was enough to make anyone who saw it feel as if their heart was being twisted by a knife.
This was a woman who should have been able to live a happy life, showered with love and affection, yet she had shouldered burdens far too heavy and endured far too much pain.
Her already pale, bloodless face, combined with her tear-filled eyes, made even the three Elder Ancestors behind Shen Lang feel a pang of sympathy, making them wish they could immediately persuade Shen Lang to let her people go.
Inside the Grand Array, there was no sound.
The once hysterical and frantic Shui Tianji was utterly silent.
After a long moment, Shui Tianji spoke, her voice hoarse, "Shen Lang... let them go. They have no grievance or enmity with you. I am your enemy. Kill me, and all of this will be over. Please... I’m begging you. Consider it a favor I owe you, one I’ll repay in the next life. Can you do that?"
The vicious aura that had always surrounded Shui Tianji seemed to have completely dissipated, and her hatred had vanished.
Her voice was faint and ethereal, devoid of any strength, filled only with unconcealable regret, like that of a dying person.
"Junior sister... don’t say such things! Since Xian’Er has come, she must have a plan! You mustn’t do anything reckless!" Zhu Feng shouted anxiously.
He feared Shui Tianji would do something foolish.
"Senior brother... thank you for taking care of us all these years. If it weren’t for your care, a widow and her orphan child like us would never have survived on Blood Evil Island. Your feelings... I understand them all. But I truly cannot escape the shadow of the past, nor can I forget a single thing about Xian’Er’s father... I’m sorry..." Shui Tianji’s voice was choked with sobs, moving everyone who heard it.
Zhu Feng gave a bitter laugh. "I understand. I know. That’s why I’ve never asked for anything. I just felt that... being by your side like this was the best I could hope for."
From beginning to end, Shen Lang’s expression remained calm, as if he were a mere bystander, and he stayed completely silent.
Only then did he suddenly speak: "Human emotion is a very complex thing. People who can sacrifice for others are worthy of admiration, but that’s not enough to make me let them go."
"Since Miss Xian’Er has come all this way, I might as well be perfectly frank."
"I want to know, why have you done all this? And now, what are you going to offer to convince me to let them go?"
After saying this, Shen Lang watched Zhuge Xian’Er quietly, awaiting her reply.
From the very beginning, Zhuge Xian’Er’s actions had been extremely strange, so much so that even Shen Lang found them difficult to comprehend.
First, because she was unwilling to be Shen Lang’s enemy, and unable to stop her mother from moving against him, she created the illusion of a plot against the Profound Dao Sect to warn Shen Lang and reveal her goodwill.
Then, she induced Shen Lang to take the initiative, laying a trap to lure these people in.
She clearly knew it was a trap, and even explained it to Zhu Feng and the others, yet she did nothing to stop them from walking into it.
It was as if she had cooperated with Shen Lang to send these people into the trap.
’What was the purpose of all this?’
’If the goal was to use this desperate situation to persuade her mother, to change her mother’s mind or even her personality... that’s not very convincing.’
’The risk she took was also a bit too great.’
Shen Lang desperately wanted to understand why she had done all this.
’And in the end, what means or what item could she possibly rely on to resolve the very crisis she had helped create?’
’This whole affair seemed like a scheme she had gone to great lengths to orchestrate with my help.’
’It’s just that in this scheme, she was at a disadvantage from start to finish.’
’And now, to resolve this scheme, it would all depend on her methods.’
Shen Lang was extremely curious. Now that she was in a position of weakness and the overall situation was decided, what could she possibly produce to turn the tables?
She needed to present a sufficient reason, and enough sincerity, to persuade Shen Lang.
This was a transaction, and the chips she offered had to satisfy Shen Lang.
After a moment of silence, Zhuge Xian’Er’s face broke into a smile. "Xian’Er knew that Brother Shen was aware of these things from the start. That’s why I prepared something—and someone—to show you."
The moment her voice fell, one of the figures within the dark cloud behind her stepped forward.
As this person emerged, Shen Lang’s eyes narrowed abruptly. He finally saw Zhuge Xian’Er’s trump card!
"Qian Luo!"
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