Asura Mad Emperor

The Red Luan was incredibly fast. It took off from Qinchuan's shoulder and devoured Fu Feng's afterimage in an instant. All of this happened in the blink of an eye, not even giving Dongfang Zhen time to react. He only realized the terrifying pressure that had been weighing down upon him had vanished, and the world instantly felt clear and bright.

The Red Luan possessed the strength of a Divine Beast and carried the bloodline of an Ancient Fierce Beast within it. Even the trio from Chi Shan failed to gain any advantage against it. As for Fu Feng's mere afterimage, it posed no challenge and was effortlessly devoured.

After swallowing Fu Feng's afterimage, the Red Luan, anthropomorphic in its movements, gulped, looked around, and finally fixed its gaze on Fu Xi.

The divine sense of a Supreme Saint Expert, though just an afterimage, contained an immense amount of the Power of the Divine Soul. However, her appetite was insatiable, not to be judged by common standards. Once, on Fusang Mountain, she had devoured numerous saints and Supreme Saints without ever appearing satisfied.

This mere afterimage of a Supreme Saint Expert naturally could not sate her.

Then, spreading its wings, the massive form of the Red Luan landed before Fu Xi, looking down upon him from its elevated position.

It brought its nose close to Fu Xi, sniffing him repeatedly, before finally frowning and letting out a dissatisfied low chirp. Then, it spread its wings again, transforming back into the size of a palm and flying back onto Qinchuan's shoulder, exuding an air of arrogance.

Fu Xi had already been terrified by the huge strange bird before him and it took him a while to regain his senses before he stammered out his question.

"You... you... who exactly are you? How... how can you have such a powerful war pet!?"

"Who this young master is, you can go ask in the Underworld!"

Coldness flickered through Qinchuan's eyes as he spoke sternly.

The Tianyuan and Taiyuan Royal Families were competing over a Mysterious Crystal Mine, setting up this contest. Fu Xi, the Eldest Prince of the Taiyuan Ancient Country, was not originally supposed to appear at this competition, but his standing here now was for the express purpose of confronting Qinchuan.

He was well aware of this, having declared before the contest began that if Fu Xi kept a low profile, all would be fine, but should he show arrogance, he would not be let off lightly.

"Since you wish to kill this young master, then you better be prepared to be suppressed!"

As he spoke,

a blood-colored long spear appeared in his hands, holding it horizontally as he steadily advanced.

No trace of energies could be detected emanating from Qinchuan. Holding the spear, he seamlessly blended with the surrounding environment, appearing no different from an ordinary mortal.

But having witnessed firsthand the terrifying feats of the seemingly harmless bird on Qinchuan's shoulder, which could devour even the divine sense of a Supreme Saint Expert, Fu Xi could not dare to treat Qinchuan as just any common man.

Qinchuan walked slowly towards Fu Xi, and at this moment, his previously concealed aura began to gradually emerge.

He was merely a martial artist in the Meridian Opening Realm, yet he appeared as an envoy returned from Asura Purgatory, carrying a sense of invincibility and a determination to slaughter all the demons of the world. This made Fu Xi, who was at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Martial Realm, shudder with cold dread, his heart trembling, unable to muster even a trace of resistance.

Fu Xi was so frightened that his courage shattered.

At last, unable to contain himself, he retreated in haste, yelling with a feigned bravado that belied deep fear, "You... you can't kill me! You can't kill me!"

He stumbled and fell to the ground.

By then, Qinchuan had already reached him, and Fu Xi could clearly hear the slight quivering sound of the spear in Qinchuan's hand.

Fu Xi's face was devoid of color, ghastly pale, his lips quivering as he managed to say, "I... I am the Eldest Prince of Taiyuan Ancient Country, the future emperor. If you kill me, you will surely face relentless pursuit by the Taiyuan Royal Family!"

Qinchuan's face was full of disdain as he replied coolly,

"What of the Taiyuan Royal Family? Even the lord of the Divine Court must show respect when they see this young master. A mere mortal kingdom dares to threaten me? They aren't qualified!"

As he spoke, Qinchuan had already lifted the long spear in his hand above his chest and was about to stab at Fu Xi.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, a "whoosh" sounded through the void.

Then a dark shadow flashed by, and a Demon Suppression Staff flew straight over.

"Boom!"

The Demon Suppression Staff collided with the Blood Spear, producing a thunderous noise that shook heaven and earth.

The Demon Suppression Staff blocked the path of the blood-colored spear, saving Fu Xi. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

The person who intervened was none other than Dongfang Zhen, who had been standing to the side.

After he blocked the fatal blow for Fu Xi, he stepped forward, bowed to Qinchuan, and pleaded, "Young Master Qin, please spare him!"

Qinchuan's hand moved slightly, retracting the tremoring Blood Spear, and with a sidelong glance, he looked at Dongfang Zhen and asked indifferently, "Oh? And why is that?"

"Just now Fu Xi was trying to kill you. If it hadn't been for this young master's intervention, you would have been a corpse by now. Why then are you saving his life instead?"

Dongfang Zhen raised his head, glanced at Fu Xi, and sighed deeply, "Years ago, when my Dongfang family fell into hardship in the Taiyuan Ancient Country, we were fortunate to be taken in by the lineage of the Taiyuan Royal Family, thereby preserving our family lineage.

From that moment on, my Dongfang lineage vowed ancestral oaths of loyalty to the Taiyuan lineage—for the Taiyuan Royal Family, we the Dongfang lineage are subjects.

Although I have now pledged allegiance to the Second Imperial Prince and stand in a different faction from the Eldest Prince, as a subject to commit regicide is indeed a grave sin. Dongfang Zhen dares not commit such an act of gross disloyalty—even if I am not the one to act upon it directly, if I were to see the Eldest Prince in peril, I could not stand idly by."

After listening to Dongfang Zhen's words, a smile suddenly appeared on Qinchuan's face, followed by hearty laughter, "Good, you are indeed worthy of being an offspring of Gongshan Busu! You do resemble him a bit!"

Then, indeed, Qinchuan moved his hand, retracting the blood-colored spear, and did not trouble Fu Xi any further.

With Qinchuan's current cultivation level—though only that of the Meridian Opening Realm—if he truly wanted to strike down Fu Xi, Dongfang Zhen would not have had the chance to save him.

But he had deliberately slowed down his attack to see how Dongfang Zhen would react, and indeed, Dongfang Zhen's response had not surprised him.

"If you want me to spare him, I can do so, but you must agree to a condition!" Qinchuan declared.

"What condition?" Dongfang Zhen asked, bowing.

"Swear allegiance to the Tianyuan lineage!"

Qinchuan had seen that Dongfang Zhen had inherited the Immovable Vajra Body from Gongshan Busu. While feeling sentimental about the plight of his lineage, he developed an appreciation for his talent and decided to give the Dongfang family a helping hand. So, he had conducted this test on Dongfang Zhen deliberately.

Dongfang Zhen's choice to save Fu Xi sufficed to demonstrate his loyalty and character, which was why Qinchuan offered this condition.

However, upon hearing this, Dongfang Zhen hesitated, a look of conflict immediately spread across his face, his expression changing to shades of green and white.

After a long while, he clenched his teeth and replied, "Young Master Qin, I am afraid I cannot fulfill this condition. Our ancestors have already set forth our ancestral oaths, and the Dongfang family has sworn loyalty through generations to the Taiyuan lineage—we cannot easily switch our allegiance! Please ask of me another condition, Young Master Qin."

Qinchuan's smile grew even wider upon hearing this. He had already guessed that Dongfang Zhen would not easily agree to his terms, but he did not press further with other conditions. Instead, he changed the topic, "Since you've asked, I will spare this waste for now. The condition remains unchanged. As for the grievances between the Dongfang family and the Taiyuan lineage, I reckon they will soon be settled. It will not be too late for you to consider joining the Tianyuan Royal Family then."

After speaking, he glanced at Fu Xi as if looking at an ant, and chided softly, "Now get lost!"

Having his life-saving trump card devoured by the Red Luan, Fu Xi was already scared out of his wits. Now, narrowly escaping from the brink of death, he dared not speak another word, hastily got up, turned around, and employed his movement technique to flee into the distance.