Chapter 32.1: Persecuted

With the Cloud Heaven being the highest level lands, it was not on a parallel plane with the other two lands.

To enter Cloud Heaven, one must pass through a dimensional space tunnel and while going through the long endless tunnel, countless unknown dangers that awaited many proud but ignorant and exuberant youths.

Since time immemorial, an innumerable number of lives have been lost in this dimensional space tunnel.

Hence, the dimensional space tunnel had come to evolve over the past hundred years, to become more mysterious and unpredictable, filled with all kinds of dangers, and powerful pugilists from the lower level lands who succeeded in entering into Cloud Heaven grew less and less in number.

Every of those lands would have several powerful and mighty forces.

The Constellation Lands had three great sects and the White Fen Lands had the four great family clans.

Cloud Heaven was split into five boundaries, situated in the four compass directions of North, East, South, West, and an additional Central region.

In the East were the Divine Healers whose legacy had been passed down over a thousand years, and in the South there was the Bright Moon Divine Temple, who were skilled in divinations and possessed the power to inflicts curses. The West held the strange looking barbarians with explosive personalities while the North harboured the mysterious and unfathomable Dark Legion, evil and bloodthirsty.

In the centre region, was the Hunter’s Guild that was both upright and evil. The only thing they knew and recognized was money and not the person. The place was filled with an innumerable number of skilled and powerful pugilists and they did not fear any one of the other powers.

The five different powers had originally coexisted in Cloud Heaven peacefully for the past hundred years but in recent years, the people from the Dark Legion had grown outrageously savage where they had begun to kill people from the other powers, committing an unpardonable crime.

That had caused displeasure to brew within the other powers and they began to persecute people from the Dark Legion. The Dark Legion was becoming less like the power they were before, their might gradually being dismantled by the other powers.

And the Dark Legion’s Palace Lord who was said to be almost equal to a god did not show himself at all, allowing the Dark Legion to fracture and split, which was a point that everyone could not comprehend.

“Go on run. Run with all your might. See where you can run to. Hahahaha…..”

“Heh heh heh. See here, the Dark Legion who once considered themselves unmatchable have now been reduced to be like a dog, running for their lives all over. How pitiful.”

They have already run all the way here to the desolate and uninhabited desert but those people behind them were like shadowy ghosts intent on claiming their lives, impossible to shake off no matter what they did.

The several black human figures in front were all covered in black cloaks and their faces could not be seen. But dark coloured streaks could be seen clearly on various parts the cloaks, bloodstains seeped into the black clothing.

Behind them was a row of people, seven or eight young men, all of them dressed into blinding gold clothes with a custom made epaulet on their shoulders. It was a large eagle soaring with its wings spread wide, a long and sharp beak, its eyes vicious and penetrating.

That was the Hunter’s Guild insignia.

“Doing things that dispenses justice on Heaven’s behalf feels just so invigorating. Moreover, there’s also a great bounty to collect as well. The one we caught last night, had quite a strong level of cultivation which took quite a quite amount of effort, and took two of our brothers’ lives.”

“That person seems to hold quite a high position in the Dark Legion. Those blood red eyes of his were rather horrifying to look at.”

Those few men did not seem to be in a hurry to make any moves as they went on to chatter on casually, seeming like they were intentionally trying to provoke the people from the Dark Legion.

“What are you so afraid of? He had such a pretty looking face and if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s a man, I would have liked to have a taste of that one.” One of the sinister looking men said with a vulgar look on his face.

“So what if it was a man? It would really be fun when we toy with him. Hahahaha…..”

The people from the Dark Legion were already completely exhausted, their bodies heavily wounded. But when they heard those taunting words coming out from the mouths of their pursuers, their eyes grew garishly red, their bodies trembling, rage rising up to new heights inside, that almost engulfed their sensibilities.

Time then seemed to freeze right at that moment, the faint scent of blood wafted through the air, and gradually grew more pungent.

Chapter 32.2: Persecution

The men in gold still maintained their stance from before.

They had not even had the time to wipe the arrogant expressions off their faces.

Under the glaring sun, the extremely thin red line across their necks looked so beautifully fine, so eye catching yet startling to the heart.

The next moment, copious amounts of blood sprayed out as their heads fell off from their bodies, eight human heads in uniform, that rolled upon the sand a couple of rounds like a ball.

A tall and slender figure splendid as a red glowing sunrise stood at a high point far point far away, hands manipulating golden threads unnoticeable to the naked eye tinted an imperceptible blood red. That person smiled with a backward glance, lips red and enchantingly luscious, alluring right to her very last bone.

“Lord Mei Ji!”

The woman flew down to the ground, and stepping over the dead bodies, she slowly walked over to go right in front of the black robed men. “Able to still walk?”

The several black robed men were highly taken aback with shock a moment before they then chorused in unison: “Yes!”

“Good.” Mei Ji nodded, and then said with a laugh: “Return to the Dark Lands. I will go rescue our little monster and will join all of you after that.”

“Lord Mei Ji, it’s dangerous for you to go alone. Please bring us along with you!”

“You bunch of injured and wounded? For me to carry all you dead weights?” Mei Ji’s face was contemptuous. “The Hunter’s Guild is nothing to me, and they will not be able to stop me. Tsk! If they had not used such a crafty ruse, how could they possibly be able to capture our little monster! ?”

The few of them had still wanted to say something but were then interrupted.

“Alright, hurry up and go back. There’s not much time left. The Hunter’s Guild has a special way of communication and the deaths of these few people will have their people coming here in search for them.” The smile faded from Mei Ji’s face and she tossed them a round black ball. “Hold this. If you meet with danger again, do not fight them. Crush this with spirit power and immediately run for your lives.”

The moment her voice fell, the figure of Mei Ji shimmered and then disappeared from the spot she had been standing.

One of the black robed men picked up the black ball in a daze, and it was quite a while before he muttered: “I have a feeling that the Dark Legion will finally be able to avenge our past humiliation…..”

In the south sat the vast and ancient Bright Moon Divine Temple.

In the Divine Temple, in front of the elevated seat was a thick curtain veil, where the figure of a person would faintly be made out, languishing lazily on a lounge, seemingly bored while listening to the person below chatter endlessly.

“Temple Lord, you must help me. That man, that man must have found out. Otherwise, I will not have become like this.”

The one talking was a woman dressed in black priestess robes. Her looks were not very outstanding, a sinister air emanating from her entire body, rather terrifying. Under the loose sleeves of the priestess robe, one of them hung empty.

“Isn’t just an arm that was lost? What are you getting so worked up about?” It was a soft and gentle mesmerizing voice, that tugged at the strings of one’s heart.

The woman down below became more frantic. “But….. Your subordinate’s Devotion Curse had been planted for almost a hundred years and was about to see it devour his consciousness. But someone has managed to break the curse, and I even bitten back in retaliation…..” The woman’s face was showing much fear. “Upon divination I then came to know that the person who broke the curse is not in Cloud Heaven.”

“Oh?” The sultry voice finally showed a sliver of emotion. “The lower lands has such capable people? Could it be a person who went down there from Cloud Heaven?”

“Your subordinate does not know, but only knows that the opponent is very powerful. When I was battling him, I had initially thought that I was able to kill him, but never have I expected that I would be taken in by a trick. If I had not cut off my arm in time, I would already be turned into a pile of bones.” The woman answered in a frightened voice.

“Oh? That’s interesting…..”

Chapter 32.3: Persecution

“My Lord, what do I do now? That man will soon find out that we were the ones responsible. His personality is one that bears a grudge and his vengeance against us will definitely be vicious.”

“What do you mean we? Weren’t you the one who laid the curse? I do not know anything about it at all…..” The woman’s voice sounded highly innocent.

“My Lord…..” The woman raised her head up in incredulity, seeming like she had never thought that she would be tossed aside and abandoned like this. “My Lord save me! My Lord, I had done it all because of you…..”

“What a din. Get out!” The voice grew displeased, and an invisible force blasted the woman straight out, where she vomited blood and fell unconscious.

A breeze that came out of nowhere slightly stirred up the thin curtain veil and the woman of peerless beauty inside was seen chuckling softly, the sound enchanting and pleasing to the ears. “My Sovereign King, you’re finally….. coming back.”

————

Ever since the last time Yan Ning Luo quarrelled with Xuanyuan Che and they parted on a bad note, the relationship between the two people had become much worse.

Mo Han Yan was deeply afraid that if the two of them continued on like this, even the engagement might become impossible to preserve. She had been staying by her daughter’s side the past few days, to persuade and counsel her in a soft voice, though it was all for naught.

That had worried her for a good while and she did not even have the time to go find trouble with the siblings at the Tranquil Abode.

In truth, Qing Yu was not all that happy recently.

Although they had told Yan Su before that they did not need the Tranquil Abode rebuilt, but he had still felt that he owed the two of them, where he had not only sent people to deliver a great amount of gold and silver jewellery, silk and satin fabric, assigned to them clever and smart servants, and coming over himself to see them every few days.

When Qing Bei was very young, he had always pined for his father, hoping that he could come see him. But what awaited him was only disappointment time and time again.

Slowly, he then stopped feeling that strongly about it.

Especially after he found out that he was not Yan Su’s biological son.

“You have a good rest. Father will definitely find someone to cure your legs, to enable you to stand up once again.” Yan Su said with a benevolent face as he patted the young youth on the shoulder. Turning to the servant maid at the side, he then said: “Look after Young Master well.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Yan Su spoke a little bit more, and then got up to depart from the Tranquil Abode.

Qing Bei’s gaze was indifferent as he watched Yan Su’s back grow more distant, and he then turned his eyes back. “All of you can go outside.”

“Young Master, His Highness asks for your servant here to serve you.” The pretty looking servant girl said as she looked at the handsome face, her cheeks flushing pink.

“Disobedient servants, I do not need.” Qing Bei’s eyes turned chill. His voice was not loud, but it caused the little servant girl’s face to change in shade, where she quickly fell to her knees to kowtow frantically. “Young Master do not be angry. Your servant will go out right now.”

Upon saying that, she hurriedly left with the people behind her.

Inside the room, silence was finally restored.

Qing Bei heaved a sigh, and then looked at all the luxurious and riches and finery distastefully.

The Tranquil Abode itself was not a large place and with so many things sent here, the entire place was almost all filled up. The ladies and young misses of the various chambers were green with envy but unfortunately all of this was bestowed by the Duke himself and no matter how much they coveted the things, all they could do was just look.

Qing Bei pushed his wheelchair and then peeked into the other room inside.

[Sis is really sly!]

She knew that Father would keep coming these few days and she has been going out early and returning late and night, never around in the Tranquil Abode where Yan Su did not even have the chance to see her. Every time Father asked about her, he had had to find all kinds of excuses to dodge the question. Fortunately Yan Su’s attention had been focused on being sympathetic towards the wheelchair bound Qing Bei who was unable to walk, and had not paid Qing Yu that much notice.