Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Fierce Revenge
After the assassination attempt, Qin Feng became much more cautious. With an expert of the Sea of Reincarnation Realm like Zuo Song by his side, he quickly retrieved Qin Gang and Qin Shou, who had been waiting for news at the inn.
To Qin Feng’s surprise, Yu Yao had left while he was out.
Qin Feng didn’t care about Yu Yao’s departure. He still had a hold over her.
Within the Celestial Strategy Mansion, in a separate, three-hall courtyard, the lights blazed brilliantly. Zuo Song’s uniquely deep and powerful voice echoed from the main hall.
"Kid, you should just let this go for now," Zuo Song advised. "The Guan Family has been operating for over a thousand years. Their power is immense, so it’s only natural that they act a bit tyrannical. Why are you so fixated on revenge? Sometimes it’s best to retreat and live to fight another day!"
"Besides, you have such incredible talent as a Mystic Master. If you’re given time to grow, you could become a Great Profound Venerable one day, and you’ll definitely be able to get even then. For a gentleman, ten years isn’t too long to wait for revenge. Why are you in such a rush to act on your anger!"
"No, no, no, Old Zuo, you’re wrong. Ten years is too long. In ten years, they’ll have had the chance to enjoy everything life has to offer. Killing them then would be a mercy! I don’t want them to live for even a moment longer!" The chilling words echoed through the hall as a scorching, malevolent red glint flashed in Qin Feng’s eyes. A terrifying, intangible pressure descended upon the room.
The intangible pressure was indescribable, yet palpable. A bone-chilling cold permeated the entire courtyard. Many servants and maids shivered for no apparent reason, their hearts filled with an inexplicable unease, as if the temperature had suddenly plummeted.
To Zuo Song, however, it was something else entirely. In his eyes, that intangible pressure was clearly a killing intent so potent it felt almost tangible.
This was the kind of terrifying killing intent only someone who had climbed out of a mountain of corpses would possess.
’What terrifying killing intent... It’s practically taking form. Such murderous desire!’ Frowning, Zuo Song stared fixedly at the white-robed youth emitting the almost tangible killing intent. The young man was like a white-clad Killing God emerging from an Asura Field. The killing intent was so dreadful that it even affected the mind of a Sea of Reincarnation Realm expert like him.
’What a little monster!’ Zuo Song marveled.
"Kid, what are you planning to do now, then?" Zuo Song changed his approach, preparing to use a different method to make Qin Feng understand the difficulty of his goal and retreat.
"Naturally, I will annihilate the entire Guan Family, root and stem! Blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth!" Qin Feng declared, his tone decisive, a ferocious glint in his eyes.
Zuo Song sucked in a sharp breath. ’This kid is vicious.’ But when he thought of the Guan Family’s power, he shook his head and said,
"Kid, you still don’t understand what being one of the Nine Great Families of Mountain and River City means. Let me be honest with you, the Guan Family is crawling with experts. We don’t even need to talk about how many Martial Artists they have at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven or above. They have nearly ten experts in the Condensing Vein Realm alone, and even some Sea of Reincarnation Realm experts who are no weaker than me! What are you going to use to fight them?!"
"The Sea of Reincarnation Realm? So what? A single Third-level Array is enough to annihilate them!" A bloodthirsty glint flashed in his eyes as Qin Feng chuckled softly. "In the face of a Third Level Mysterious Array, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Condensing Vein Realm master or a Sea of Reincarnation Realm expert. They will all die!"
"You’re just a First-Grade Xuan Master. You can’t use a Third Level Mysterious Array!" Zuo Song rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"I can’t, but someone else can!" Qin Feng let out a cold chuckle.
"Who?" Zuo Song’s eyes lit up, his interest piqued. As the president of the Mystic Master Guild, he was naturally sensitive to such information. But to his frustration, he wracked his brain and couldn’t think of any other Third-grade Xuan Master in Mountain and River City. ’As far as I know, aren’t I the only one?’
"You, of course!" Qin Feng said matter-of-factly.
"Me?" Zuo Song pointed to himself, his eyebrows and beard twitching. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Just as he was about to shake his head and refuse, Qin Feng cut him off.
"Old Zuo, don’t be in such a hurry to refuse. This venture has great benefits for you, too."
"Alright, kid. Tell me, what’s in it for me if I help you?" Zuo Song listened with focused attention, though inwardly he remained unconvinced.
Qin Feng didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said something that left Zuo Song utterly flabbergasted. "Old Zuo, if I’m not mistaken, you’re an expert at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Peak, just one step away from opening your Inner Heaven and Earth. You’ve been stuck at this stage for more than a decade, haven’t you? Am I wrong?"
"Oh?" Zuo Song’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the white-robed youth in surprise. His expression grew grave. "You have a sharp eye, kid, to see through my true state so easily. But what does that have to do with the benefits you mentioned?"
"It has everything to do with it!" A smile touched Qin Feng’s eyes as he looked at the astonished Zuo Song. "As I understand it, to break through from the Sea of Reincarnation Realm to the Nirvana Realm, one must forge a Lifebound Small World—also known as an Inner Heaven and Earth—within one’s body. There are two methods to do this. The first is to forcibly create a small world using a Seed of Heaven and Earth as its foundation. The second is to obtain a World Tree Seed and cultivate a small world within your body!"
Qin Feng continued, speaking with an easy confidence. "However, either method is exceedingly difficult. Ever since the Ancient World Divine Tree vanished during the Taigu era, very few have been able to find a World Tree Seed to follow the second path. That leaves only the first. But the first path has a significant flaw. The process of opening an Inner Heaven and Earth is incredibly risky, with considerable downsides. Most small worlds created this way are Innately flawed. Even if one succeeds, the resulting Inner Heaven and Earth is often too frail to survive the four great Nirvana tribulations of earth, water, fire, and wind, and the cultivator is reduced to ash!"
"You see things with perfect clarity, kid." Zuo Song sighed, no longer trying to hide the truth. "You’re right. I have indeed reached the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Peak, and I’ve been stuck here for over a decade. For the very reasons you just described, I haven’t dared to rashly attempt a breakthrough and create my Inner Heaven and Earth."
Zuo Song lamented, "For people like us, attempting to break through to the Nirvana Realm is a near-certain death sentence. It’s just too difficult. Without absolute certainty, who would dare to try?"
"Wait... are you saying you can help me?" Zuo Song’s eyes flashed as he snapped back to reality, catching the implication in Qin Feng’s words. In his agitation, a terrifying aura exploded from him. Qin Feng’s Divine Body shuddered as immense pressure instantly bore down on him. A gut-wrenching CRACKING sound came from his bones and tendons as they struggled under the unbearable strain. His Divine Body trembled, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth. ’Zuo Song is even stronger than I anticipated! Just his aura alone was enough to injure me.’
’As expected, powerful experts aren’t so easy to scheme against. The gap between us is just too vast!’ Sweat beaded on Qin Feng’s forehead as a bitter smile touched his lips. A wisp of medicinal energy flowed from the Mystic Turtle Divine Pill inside him, rapidly healing his injuries.
The aura had come on quickly, but it vanished just as fast. Zuo Song quickly realized his lapse and retracted his aura with an embarrassed smile. When he saw Qin Feng’s ruddy complexion, seemingly unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief, though he was also a bit surprised. He was an expert at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm Peak; even a casual wisp of his aura would be too much for a Martial Artist in the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven, yet this Late-stage Martial Arts Fourth Layer youth appeared completely fine.
After a moment of surprise, Zuo Song pushed the thought aside. His mind was now entirely focused on the prospect of breaking through. Though a part of him was still in disbelief, he was unwilling to abandon even the slightest sliver of hope. He stared intently at the white-robed youth and spoke slowly.
"Kid, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"As far as I know, the Innate frailty of a forcibly opened Inner Heaven and Earth is not impossible to remedy," Qin Feng said calmly, rising and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "One method is to find a Spiritual Object and use it as a World-Suppressing Spiritual Object to stabilize the new realm. However, such Spiritual Objects are incredibly rare—one might not be found in a century!"
"Not found in a century? These Spiritual Objects are rarer than that—they’re practically mythical! Priceless and unobtainable!" Zuo Song glanced at the white-robed youth and shook his head, his gaze dimming. "Even with my current status, finding one is an almost impossible task. Ever since I became president of the Mystic Master Guild in Mountain and River City more than ten years ago, I’ve been searching for one relentlessly. I’ve heard rumors of such Spiritual Objects over the years, but every time I arrived, I was told it had already been taken by someone else."
If he could have obtained such a Spiritual Object, even if the chances of breaking through to the Nirvana Realm were minuscule, Zuo Song would have made his attempt long ago!
Qin Feng looked at the downcast Zuo Song and spoke slowly. "There is another method. You could set up an Ancient Origin Xuan Array and use its Ancient Origin Xuan Array Altar to suppress the Inner Heaven and Earth!"
Nodding slowly, a wry, bitter smile appeared on Zuo Song’s face. "Kid, Ancient Origin Xuan Arrays are not so easy to obtain. They’re rare, unique, and can’t be stolen. You were just lucky enough to refine an Ancient Origin Xuan Array into your Lifebound Array Map. Not every Mystic Master shares your good fortune..."
"Are Ancient Origin Xuan Arrays really that rare?" Qin Feng paused, blinking. "But I think I have a dozen or so of them in my head..."
"A dozen or so? Impossible..." Zuo Song started to retort, but then the words caught in his throat. He stared blankly at the white-robed youth, pointing a trembling finger, utterly speechless...
"That’s right, an Ancient Origin Xuan Array. If you were to control it, you could easily annihilate every expert in the Guan Family. You might even be able to use the blood sacrifice of their entire clan to refine the Ancient Origin Array Map in one go, create your Inner Heaven and Earth, and break through to the Nirvana Realm!!"
