Page 472

"Disappeared?"

In the post station of the Honglu Temple, two Yaksha generals saw only Ali return alone, their eyes turning red with rage. Hearing Ali’s account, they were on the verge of losing control, their violent auras nearly shredding the barrier Shen Qi had set up!

Several Western Sea warriors frowned deeply, quickly stepping forward to protect Ali, but the pressure facing them made their hearts pound with fear.

Especially the two leading deputy generals, under Tian Heng’s biased supply of faith, had made rapid progress in half a year, stepping into the Transcendent realm.

They had thought they could compete with those so-called Dragon Palace warriors from the Western Sea, but now it seemed.

.. the Dragon Palace’s people had them restrained, after all. ...

It now seemed the warnings from their superior had not been mistaken.

"Do not provoke those from the Dragon Palace on your own initiative. Don’t think you can challenge them just because they are few in number. It’s fine to be on guard, but do not start disputes, because if it comes to a real fight, all of us together... can’t beat them...."

In the past, they had felt that their superior was too cautious, after all, the Family Head of the Tian Family was known for his steady approach on the battlefield.

Now it appears, it was not that their superior was overly cautious, but that the reality was indeed so....

Based on the aura displayed by these two Yakshas, it seemed even all of Tian Heng’s trusted followers combined would not be a match!

"Calm down!"

Just as the situation was about to deteriorate, Shen Qi finally stepped forward.

The two Yakshas’ formidable presence paused slightly.

Currently in the Dragon Palace, the Human Sorcerers had a relatively close relationship with the people of the Dragon Palace, unlike the Sea God Army that competed for faith.

The sorcerers from Jiangnan, who studied the Dragon Palace’s secret scriptures, showed great respect for the Dragon Palace’s people in order to seize control of knowledge as quickly as possible, and the products of their research were prioritized for the Dragon Palace’s needs.

For example, the Dragon Palace now needed a large amount of blood essence stones to revive their companions, and more than 80% of the sorcerer members were researching the contents of Blood Sorcerers, actively refining high-quality products with requisitioned blood.

With the sorcerers stepping forward, neither the War God Army nor the Western Sea God Army could refuse. Every day, warriors contributed high-quality blood for the sorcerers to research materials.

This was also why the Dragon Palace Forces were still restraining themselves from completely falling out with the Western Sea Army.

Because only if the overall quality of the Western Sea Army improved, could they contribute more blood to make blood essence stones. Otherwise, relying solely on the few revived Yakshas and aquatic warriors, they would probably run out of blood before having enough.

In the research of Blood Sorcerers, Shen Qi was the representative.

His newly developed White Jade Blood Essence Stone had a very high efficiency.

In just half a year, he had already revived ten Yakshas for the Western Sea Dragon Palace.

Even now, Prince Ao Zhen of the Western Sea treated Shen Qi with courtesy.

Now that he had spoken, there was at least a bit of effectiveness.

"Mr. Shen Qi!" The leading Yaksha suppressed the raging fury in his heart, "We cannot accept this fox’s statement."

"What can you do if you can’t accept it?" Shen Qi sighed, "You know her level. Her combat ability can’t even match a proper warrior. Under the circumstances at that time, being able to bluff the opponent and safely bring out the message was already quite remarkable...."

To be honest, he was quite impressed by this fox demon’s ability to react on the spot. He doubted that he himself could have emerged completely unscathed; this fox was truly a performer from a thousand years ago, with impressive acting skills....

"Are you suggesting we just watch helplessly as our princess disappears?" The two Yakshas both spoke with evident hostility.

"Of course not..." Shen Qi shook his head, "Just as Ali analyzed, although the opponent used cunning methods to make Princess Ao Zhen disappear in an instant, they certainly don’t have the ability to suppress Prince Ao Zhen easily. If they had that capability, they wouldn’t need to make so many probes. "

"The situation now is, we don’t know their details, and they don’t know ours.

They devised a plan to make Ao Zhen disappear, just to test our reaction with intimidation.

But in actuality, I suspect that Prince Ao Zhen is still safe for now.

They must have paid a significant price to take Prince Ao Zhen away. "

Upon hearing that Princess Ao Zhen was not in mortal danger, the two Yakshas slightly calmed down.

"Then, Mr. Shen Qi, what do you think we should do now?"

At this, Shen Qi showed a wry smile. This was the most troublesome point.

The next move was extremely crucial. One wrong step and they would reveal all their details. Once the other side knew their full hand, not just this group from the Capital City but possibly even Jiangnan could be in great jeopardy....

This was really a matter of life or death!

"Miss Ali, when is the duel you have arranged with Prince Wutu Gu?"

"Hey, let me get this straight..." Ali immediately grew anxious, "What do you mean by ’my duel’? It’s supposed to be Chen Qing’s duel; what does that have to do with me? I’m just here to fill in. You guys wouldn’t seriously expect me to take part, would you?"

Everyone: "....."

"Let me tell you, even if it’s just for show, I won’t go. If you haven’t figured out a plan by the agreed-upon day, I’ll disguise myself and flee. I absolutely won’t go to the scene and take risks!"

Shen Qi covered his head, "So, exactly when is it?"

"Two days from now!"

"That soon?"

"When else would we drag it out till?" Ali gave the others a disdainful glance. "Three years from now? I’d like that, sure, but be realistic."

"Two days..." Shen Qi rubbed his fingers together and then looked at Chen Ying, who had followed them secretly here, "Which sorcerer families have contacted us in secret today?"

Chen Ying was startled, then hurriedly said, "Many. Up until the message from the Xiong Family just now, there have been more than forty families in contact with us, all wanting to meet with me and Seventh Master."

"Then let’s meet!" Shen Qi said softly, "Originally, I wanted to wait a couple of days, but now we need to gather information, and we can only start with these families."

"Will that be okay?" Chen Ying frowned. "We’re not very clear about the backgrounds of these families. What if they are sent by the Siao Family to secretly probe us?"

"Then we’ll probe each other. You always have to dangle some bait to catch fish, don’t you?" Shen Qi sighed. "Right now, we’re on the defensive. Ali has bluffed them for now, but that won’t last long. If we can’t fight as scheduled in two days, we’ll be the ones to die."

Chen Ying paused for a moment, then finally said, "Then...which family should we reply to first?"

"The Chen Family!"

"The Chen Family?" Chen Ying was taken aback, and Ali frowned too.

The Chen Family, Capital City’s number one sorcerer family.

They had led the Imperial Court’s involvement in the recent Dragon Palace incident.

Their family head, Chen Baifeng, had successfully managed to gain a share of the action.

Now, the Chen Family effectively held control over the Southern Sea and was collaborating with the Imperial Court— the specifics of which, no one knew.

What was the Chen Family’s agreement with the Imperial Court? Was the Nanhai Dragon Palace in the hands of the Chen Family or the Imperial Court? Over the past half year, not a shred of information had filtered through to Jiangnan.

In such circumstances, arranging a meeting with the Chen Family...wasn’t that taking too much of a risk?

"Taking risks is a given, but there’s also a big opportunity," Shen Qi analyzed. "After the Chen Family took over the Southern Sea, almost all of their elite descendants were sent there. The ones left here are only the members from the third branch, responsible for foreign affairs. Chen Baiye is of ordinary talent, and there aren’t any outstanding individuals among his children’s generation.

However, two from the grandchild generation managed to enroll in Jiangnan Academy and are the best-performing individuals from the Chen Family in Jiangnan.

Many families must want a share of the Southern Sea’s benefits; it’s impossible for the Chen Family to monopolize it.

They lack the capacity to digest it all and will inevitably seek cooperation. "

"Since they’re looking for cooperation, it’s impossible for the Chen Family to immediately ensure all their clan members will have access to Dragon Palace resources.

It’s quite clear that the third branch is excluded this time.

They claim they’re staying in Capital City to keep things in order, but if they had a choice, would they truly want to stay in Capital City? "

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying’s eyes lit up, but Ali coldly said, "If you can think of this, so can the Emperor. Don’t underestimate that fellow. I’d bet ten jars of Ginseng Blood Wine, he’s already guessed you will contact the Chen Family!"

"I don’t doubt that..." Shen Qi nodded. "But I don’t believe the Chen Family will align outright with the Emperor, especially since Senior Zi Yue said that the Ghost Domain and the Dragon Palace couldn’t possibly merge.

I’m more willing to believe that the Chen Family and the Royal Family are in a cooperative relationship.

If that’s the case, there’s an opportunity to take advantage of.

Every cooperation in the world can be split, it just depends on who offers more chips! "

----------------------------

"Father!"

Elsewhere, Chen Baiye, who had just returned home from the Imperial Court, hadn’t even reached his gate when he was met by his eldest son, Chen Qingshan.

"Still so impulsive. Can’t you be a bit more composed?" Chen Baiye scolded softly then followed his son back to the Chen Family Residence. After dismissing the servants and setting up a barrier for privacy, he asked, "What’s the situation?"

"We’ve received a letter from the Jiangnan Delegation, asking for a meeting!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Baiye’s expression grew solemn. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Call your brothers and sisters here. This matter affects the future and destiny of you all. Which path to choose will be for you to decide!"