Chapter 321: Dangerous Flight Path
"May I ask who your dao god is?"
"Haha, I'm sorry. That's not something I can answer," Miaomiao laughed and smiled, pretending that he was uncomfortable with the question.
"I see…"
Liu Xuande withdrew his killing intent. He tilted his head while he stared at Miaomiao's face, doubting something.
"Last question, why are you the only group coming out of Siren City? There should be many people in there, but how come nobody leaves the city?"
"Is that something you should be worrying about? Whatever they do, it's their businesses," Miaomiao continued using his fake smile, telling Liu Xuande indirectly that it was none of his business.
The messy beard guy yelled, "Just answer the question or I'll pull out your tongue and feed it to a chicken!"
Fogan and Liu Guang frowned and stared at Zhang Yide. This brother of Liu Xuande was too rude, but they didn't dare to talk back or offend this 8th-stage expert.
Miaomiao glanced at this so-called Zhang Fei's counterpart. Then, he looked at [Liu Bei].
"The local people probably don't like traveling."
Zhang Yide threatened Miaomiao again, "Brat. Are you aware of your current situation? Tell my elder brother honestly or this father will chop off your limps and feed you to the Chimera Shark in the Red River!"
"Yide, enough!" The red face man slapped the back of the head of Zhang Yide. Then, he cupped his fist and saluted toward Miaomiao, "I'm sorry for my third brother's manner. He got used to the Holy Land's culture and forgot that he was on a foreign continent. We didn't mean to bully you or threaten you."
Not only Guan Yunchang apologized to Miaomiao, but he also glanced at Liu Xuande, "You, too, elder brother. What are you trying to do by threatening a junior!?"
"N-N-No! That's a misunderstanding! I'm so sorry about that. Junior Cao, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to provoke you. I hope you can forgive me."
Liu Xuande bowed 90 degrees and flustered as if he had made a grave mistake.
Liu Guang and Fogan were taken aback. Both of them cupped their fists and received the apology.
On the other hand, Miaomiao's face distorted as he knew what Liu Xuande's true nature was.
In Miaomiao's former world, Liu Bei, the counterpart of Liu Xuande of this world, was the King of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. He was respected as a benevolent lord, who had been resisting Cao Cao, another warlord at the time, and left many legends throughout his life.
Many ancient scholars praised Liu Bei for being magnanimous, righteous, and humble. In historical records, Liu Bei was an able politician and a strategist, but his abilities couldn't match with many heroes during his time. Still, his determination, generosity, tolerance, and saint-like kindness won many heroes' hearts, which helped him forge an empire under his name.
On the other hand, modern historians flagged Liu Bei as a pretender, a conman, a hypocrite, a thief, and a villain. Many studies believed that Liu Bei used his generosity and righteousness as a tool to draw many capable heroes to his side while he climbed the ladder in the political world. He refused to support Cao Cao and end the civil war when he could. Instead of stopping the war and restore peace for the Han Dynasty, he provoked other clans to fight against Cao Cao, causing more war and bloodshed. After making a mess and caused millions of soldiers and citizens to die, he stole a region from his ally and establish his new kingdom, prolonging the civil war for many decades.
Not only Miaomiao was aware of Liu Bei's controversial fame, but he had another source of intel, which confirmed that Liu Xuande was not a humble man as he had been behaving.
…
Anonymous Devil's Request: Hunt a Local Villain
Target Information
Name: Liu Xuande
Role: Villain
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Story Type: Two-Face Saint
Traits: Righteous, Ambitious, Selfish, Cunning, Pretender, Charismatic
Sponsor: Emperor Gaozu of Han
…
This quest information alone revealed a contradiction in his character. Being righteous, yet being selfish, cunning, and ambitious signified his hypocritical trait. The two-face saint storyline also told it all.
Secondly, Liu Xuande was confirmed by the system and the devil that his alignment was Lawful Evil. He might appear as a good guy on the surface, but ultimately, he was still a villain.
Thus, no matter what Liu Xuande did, Miaomiao didn't trust him.
Ding
[Anonymous Devil wonders if you will consider accepting his quests.]
[Kunwu encourages you to kill this villain.]
[Sun Crow wants blood. He encourages you to accept the quest and hunt this villain.]
[Tilted Hongjun wants you to kill this villain for the greater good.]
"…"
Sometimes, Miaomiao forgot that he was in the Truman Show. These spectating gods were noisy.
He ignored the watchers' messages and cupped his fist, pretending to be gullible, "I didn't even realize that I was threatened. It's alright, senior. He hasn't done anything to me, so there is no need for an apology."
Guan Yunchang, aka Guan Yu, nodded in approval. He smacked the back of Zhang Yide's head again and warned him not to cause a scene.
As for Liu Xuande, he dryly laughed, "Well, excuse us for obstructing your pleasant journey. We will go on our way."
"I see. Excuse us, then. We're in a hurry."
Miaomiao gestured Liu Guang and Fogan to follow him. Then, they flew east, running away from these powerful experts.
...
Liu Xuande gazed at the departing group until they disappeared into the horizon. When he couldn't see them anymore, he turned around and looked west.
"What do you think, Yunchang?"
Guan Yu, aka Guang Yunchang, the second brother of this group of sworn brothers, stroke his long silky black beard and laughed.
"Had he been born in the Holy Land Continent, he would have been standing among the top genies. His cultivation base would have surpassed us."
Liu Xuande nodded, "True. It's unbelievable that a guy like that can emerge from this Qi-less continent. How the hell did he cultivate to that extent!?"
Zhang Yide snorted, "Bah! Why are you praising that useless trash!? We can find a thousand men with that amount of essence everywhere back home. Why are you impressed by the fact that he can fly!? Every child from our clans can fly when they reach the 4th-stage!"
"Yide, it's different here. They don't have rich resources, spirit ore veins, element crystal mines, or merchants from the higher realms. They can only rely on themselves to get stronger with limited resources. Do you think you can reach the 8th-stage by living in this place since birth?"
"… No. That's impossible."
"Right? Then, look at that kid. I checked his bone age just now, and he should be under 20."
"No matter how I look at him, he's suspicious!" Zhang Yide still didn't like Miaomiao.
Liu Xuande nodded, "Yes. I don't like him either. He's too calm."
"Huh? Too calm?"
Guan Yunchang also agreed, "Indeed. He's too calm. Had it been ordinary 4th-stage youth, they would have been panicked-stricken. That guy stared at us with a straight face as if our presence was nothing."
"Aye," Liu Xuande laughed. "And that brings me the irregular activities in the Siren City. We've been observing it for several days, and we've confirmed that only one 8th-stage expert is hiding there. We've also collected a sample of the sewer water from their moat, and it contains the medicinal effect properties. By now, we should report what we've found to Yuan Shaoqing…"
Liu Xuande paused. He grinned.
Guan Yunchang shook his head and rolled his eyes, "But elder brother has another plan?"
"You saw through me, Yunchang. Indeed, it would have been a waste if we were to report everything and allow Yuan Shaoqing to conquer this city."
Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide looked at their elder brother, wondering what he had been scheming.
"What do you want to do with the Siren City?"
Liu Xuande's face turned solemn. He stared at the west without hiding his greed and ambition.
"I want it. There's something good in there, and I want the entire city."
"…"
"Don't look at me like that. It is for the sake of our alliance and our families! Think about the medicinal water from the moat! We could have made several elixirs and shipped them back to Holy Land Continent. Do you know how many essence cores we can get from this!? Billions! We could exchange them for soul stones! SOUL STONES! DON'T YOU WANT SOUL STONES!?"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fell silent. They slightly nodded as they agreed to what Liu Bei had said.
With soul stones, they might have a chance to advance to the 9th-stage, the last stage of mortal levels. Beyond that, they would ascend to the immortal level, and nobody in the mortal world, including the Heavenly Eyes, could look down upon them anymore.
After getting the approval of his brothers, Liu Xuande picked up his phone and called his subordinates.
Showing on his J-Phone was the name [Jian Yong].
Click
As soon as Liu Xuande made the call, the other side picked up within two seconds.
[Yes, young master Liu?]
"Jian Yong, is your pavilion busy?"
[Not as busy at the moment. Aside from the absurd request of the Dong Clan's remnant, we don't have much work to do. Do you have a job for us, young master Liu?]
"I do. Say, did Yuan Shaoqing send an alliance request to your pavilion, too?"
[Indeed. Would you like to hear it?]
"Nah. I already knew what that upstarted bitch had been trying to do. I just want to commission a job."
[I'm all ears.]
"Okay, listen carefully…"
…
After getting 10km away from Liu Xuande, Miaomiao's group took a short break to catch their breath.
Confronting two 8th-stage cultivators face-to-face was dangerous. Had something gone wrong, they could have killed them with a flicker of fingers. Fortunately, they let them leave unconditionally.
Miaomiao didn't know whether Liu Bei had an ulterior motive for letting them go. But for now, he needed to inform the elders about the lurking threats.
He texted Jia Shan right away. He also rubbed his master ring, sending telepathic voice transmission to his slaves, telling them about the brief encounter.
Jia Shan simply replied to the text with a [Okay] sticker. Then, he warned Miaomiao.
[On the return trip, take a long detour to the north. Head to the Tian Long Forest first, then follow the coastline south to our city on foot. Tell us when you're about to depart from Tian Long Forest. We'll send some experts to escort you home.]
"Roger that."
Miaomiao was glad that Jia Shan had the same idea as his. Since they might buy a lot of supplies from the suspicious dungeon master, they might encounter thieves, bandits, or cultivators from the Yuan Clan on their way home. They might even run into Liu Xuande again, and the latter might extort them for their treasures.
Also, Chicken Ann City was close to Mount Hua, the place where another OP protagonist had been lurking. He didn't want to fly through here again.
…
Anonymous Devil's Request: Hunt a Reincarnated Protagonist
Target Information
Name: Ling Tianlong
Role: Protagonist
Alignment: Lawful Good
Story Type: Reincarnated Immortal
Traits: Righteous, Decisive, Calm, and Perfectionist
Sponsor: None
.
Cheat Factors
Immortal Experience
Life Experience
Gifted in Sword Dao
.
Difficulty: Level 10
Overall Strength
Level 10 Foundation
Level 10 Growth Speed
Level 5 Plot Armor
Level 7 Luck
.
Ling Tianlong had the same name as the Tian Long Forest.
This protagonist seemed similar to Lu Fengxian, judging from the basic stats and detail. However, having level 7 in luck meant that he could get fortuitous encounters anytime, anywhere, and in any form.
Returning home using the same flight path was akin to betting if this protagonist would accidentally show up, beat them by an accident, and unintentionally steal their spatial rings.
OP protagonists were usually shameless bullies. They face-slapped everyone whom they came across, including their allies. As such, encountering an invincible protagonist stranger on the way home or on the way toward Red Sun City might spell disasters.
"Let's hurry. We don't want to stay here for long."
Fogan and Liu Guang nodded as they didn't want Liu Bei and his brothers to follow them. The group drank a mouthful of unified element water to restore their stamina and continued flying east.
…
On top of a mountain range, southeast of Chicken Ann City, a lone young man stared into a distance as if he had been observing something far away. His eyes followed a group of two humans and an orc, heading east in a hurry.
"Hmm."
The young man turned around, heading back to the sect's training ground. Just now, he had an urge to leave the sect for the first time.
"I have a feeling that I should follow those people…"
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