Chapter 146
“Hmmmm? That is…”
Fang Yuan rode on the Red-eyed White Bird and soared above the nine heavens at an astonishing speed.
As he reached the borders of the Summer Sun Prefecture City, his expression grew serious.
Immerse spiritual pressure could be felt in the direction of the prefecture city. The city was ablaze and was covered in thick black smoke. The scene looked apocalyptic.
“Could it be that Liu Yan felt that burning the eight cities was not enough and wanted to burn down even the Summer Sun Prefecture?”
Fang Yuan spat, his face solemn.
In the prefecture city, a plot was being carried out against Liu Yan who was surrounded by assassins!
“Given Liu Yan’s current prowess, only those who are extremely skilled and hold high appointments in the country would be able to force him to this stage…could it be that the wheel of fate has turned? He had not even gotten the Wu Zongs and the spiritual knights in the two prefectures to swear their loyalty to him and it appears that he is going to be disposed of first…”
Fang Yuan smiled.
He did not know if Liu Yan would be a blessing or a bane in the future. At least now, he would not be forced to take sides.
“Little White, fly higher!”
Fang Yuan gave the orders to the Red-eyed White Bird after he thought through it.
It would be safer for him not to take sides and instead observe when the two sides clashed.
….
As compared to Fang Yuan, the countless people in the prefecture city were not as calm.
“Houhou!”
In the sky above the residence, 9 scarlet fire dragons with their tails intertwined together were spitting flames. This caused the whole sky to be painted crimson red.
“Heavenly Fire Dragon?”
Xie Lingyun’s emotion was a mix of fear and regret as she witnessed this scene, “Liu Yan had truly reached the Elemental Breaking Bottleneck!”
“It is precisely so that will seal his fate!”
Xuan Sheng spoke without a moment’s hesitation, “In the neighbouring Wu Country, Yuan Country…and even Xia Country do not have a spiritual knight who has reached the Elemental Breaking Bottleneck take on a command position. Who would wish to have a superior if they are powerful leaders themselves?”
Xie Lingyun laughed bitterly. She did not know why but a silhouette of a youth appeared in her mind.
She knew that he was an exceptional genius who had the potential to surpass Liu Yan given enough time.
“Wu Wudao! I will bring you down along with me if I die today!”
Liu Yan stood on top of the fire dragon’s head, his eyes fixed on the Imperial Advisor.
His hair was in a mess and his chest was riddled with holes. He looked sinister and let out a laugh. He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of purple-red blood. His pores opened and beads of blood started to flow out to form a figure of a man from the blood.
“Flaming Blood Secret Technique! Scarlet Dragon Fire Pill…explode!!!”
“Houhou!”
The nine fire dragons let out a cry before they each spat out an illusionary pill the size of a fist. The pills combined to become the size of a human head, raging with flames and flew towards Wu Wudao.
“Chhh!”
Wu Wudao did not dare to be complacent and hurriedly dodged the attack. However, layers and layers of the Five Elements Light appeared on his body and surrounded him.
In that instant.
The fire pill pursued Wu Wudao and clashed with his defence.
“Honglong!”
The heavens and earth turned dark.
The wind howled and tore at the ground.
“Cough cough…”
Taoist Elder Xuan Sheng looked at the sky amidst the dust, “Shit… If the Blood Demon was here, Liu Yan would have fallen into the trap with his previous technique and would be subdued by the Blood Demon!”
“Why is he not here?”
Xie Lingyun asked coldly.
“This…..how would I know?”
Xuan Sheng looked around and saw something. He immediately leapt forward, “Imperial Advisor sir, are you okay?”
“Cough Cough…..I am fine!”
Xie Lingyun followed closely behind and arrived at a badly damaged stone wall. She could see a person with torn clothing and badly burnt skin. His abdomen was pierced by a metal spear and he was nailed upon the wall, fresh blood trickled from his wound.
Upon seeing the arrival of Xuan Sheng, his eyes brightened, “I may have been struck by Liu Yan’s flying spear, but he had been struck by my God Searching Palm. Not even the deities can save him! The final victory is mine! Cough cough…”
He appeared to be proud and spat out mouth after mouth of fresh blood.
“Don’t mind me, go and collect Liu Yan’s corpse! Also, get rid of all the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Armed Forces, especially the three Wu Zongs!”
Wu Wudao waved them away and grasped the metal spear. With a yank, he pulled out the spear which resulted in his blood gushing out from his body.
“Understood!”
Xuan Sheng respected the Imperial Advisor. He stood up and gave the orders to his people.
Behind him, Xie Lingyun witnessed the scene.
After this incident, the prefecture city was badly damaged. In addition to the destruction of the cities, the Summer Sun Prefecture was greatly weakened.
After Liu Yan’s death, Wu Country would gain the Secluded Mountain Prefecture according to the agreement which would further enhance their power.
The strong ones would become stronger while the weak ones would become even weaker. Would Xia Country be able to fend off Wu Country’s conquest after tens or hundreds of years?
Lingyun was afraid that not even a small village would be left!
Her view was bleak when she thought about it.
…
“Cough Cough…”
After Liu Yan used the Flaming Blood Secret Technique, he was sure that he was going to die. He was immediately surrounded after he beat Wu Wudao.
He was groggy and could not remember what happened next.
It was then when a small blaze that went down his throat and spread through his body caused him to wake up and open his eyes.
He could see that he was in a cave. The floor was wet. It was dark and silent. The moss that grew at the sides were covered in dew drops.
“I…I…”
He opened his mouth and realized that his voice was coarse like sandpaper. He could not help but smile bitterly.
Just the act of smiling caused him to feel like his body was being torn apart.
After being struck by Wu Wudao’s God Searching Palm, he had completely lost his Elemental Force that he had painstakingly trained and was now useless.
It was a miracle that he was still alive after sustaining such grave injuries.
‘I must have been saved by a master or unknowingly swallowed some treasure for me to be still hanging on to my life.’
Liu Yan’s eyes lit up with hope as he realized that there was someone there.
“Master Liu, are you awake?”
The voice was familiar. The other person took out a Bright Moon Pearl which lit up the whole cave. Liu Yan was astonished. “It’s you! Fang Yuan!”
“Of course it’s me!”
Fang Yuan laughed and sat beside Liu Yan, “Who else would be able to save your life other than me? What happened in the Summer Sun Prefecture City?”
From his question, Liu Yan was convinced that Fang Yuan was not a member of Wu Country.
Liu Yan remembered his defeat and his expression grew dark, “The Imperial Advisor of Wu challenged me to a fight, Taoist Mu Li was a spy and betrayed my troops and I…”
He did not have to use his brain to guess that the troops and even the three Wu Zongs in the prefecture met their ends.
“Imperial Advisor of Wu?”
Fang Yuan nodded his head and looked at Liu Yan, “You are gravely wounded and your magical energy is diminishing. There is no doubt that you will die! I can only prolong your life for a while longer. If you have any regrets, do say now!”
“You would help me seek revenge?”
Liu Yan’s eyes were burning.
“No…”
Fang Yuan smiled, “If you request something that is not too difficult and my mood is good, I will help you. If the task is too difficult, dream on. I will just bury you and we will be even!”
Liu Yan flushed. He could not speak out any more requests.
After a while, he sighed, “I regret not being able to break through the Elemental Breaking stage…”
“I am afraid that you would still be involved even if you wanted to stay out of it, Brother Fang!”
“Oh? Why is that so?”
While Fang Yuan could deduce as much, his heart sank when he heard what Liu Yan said.
“Haha… why did Wu Country agree to help out this time? This is because the Xia Country Royal Family gave them sufficient incentives! Hmm! Those stupid worms, other than the state, what is there to sell? I am not sure of the other conditions, but I am sure one of them would be dividing the land in return!”
“Dividing of land?”
Fang Yuan stroked his chin, “The Secluded Mountain Prefecture would be affected by the drawing of the countries’ boundaries!”
“That Wu Country…cough cough…”
Liu Yan coughed, his whole face red. It was obvious that his time had arrived, “…had coveted the Secluded Mountain Prefecture for a very long time. It was previously prevented by me. Now, it is up to you. Brother Fang, I still had a favour to ask of you and I hope that you would not decline!”
“Speak first!”
Fang Yuan’s face was distorted.
“I hope that you would take over the position as the Prefecture Master of the Secluded Mountain Prefecture!”
Liu Yan said solemnly.
“Me?”
Fang Yuan pointed at himself. He was speechless.
The position of Prefecture Master had always been held by the most powerful. As of now, there was no one more suitable than him.
“That’s right, this is my way of revenge and is definitely beneficial for you too!”
Liu Yan struggled before he managed to take out a black seal and passed to Fang Yuan.
“This seal enables you to take command of the troops in the 6 counties within the Prefecture…I still have some treasure in the residence. They are now yours! Remember that the Wu Country is very greedy and ambitious. They will not let any outsiders break through to the Elemental Breaking Realm. They come for me this time and they will not let you go next time!”
Liu Yan used his remaining energy to tightly grasp Fang Yuan’s hand.
Not long after, the Secluded Mountain Prefecture Master who had astonished numerous countries took his last breath and passed away.