C270 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Liu Wei's smile stiffened on his face.

"Wei Feng! Wei Feng!"

The soldier, who possessed the combat strength of Subtlety and had amputated his own arm due to Yu Zhu's poison, suddenly yelled out.

His cries were far from ordinary.

Waves of spiritual sense emanated with his shouts, directed at Wei Feng.

Yu Yuan, with his keen heaven soul, could see that the spiritual sense ripples were meant to rouse Wei Feng, to prevent her from remaining unconscious.

Yu Yuan furrowed his brow and quickly stepped behind Wei Feng. He removed a white jade belt from her waist and hastily tied it around her wrist.

Wei Feng, who had been briefly knocked out by a blow to the head, was jolted awake.

Lei Xiao of the Thunder Sect frowned deeply and grumbled, "Enough with the noise!"

A hammer, as long as an arm, burst forth with dazzling lightning and struck down upon the soldier.

The moment it made contact, the silver hammer transformed into a towering stone column, gleaming silver with intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes, adorned with an array of lightning magic diagrams.

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed as the silver hammer, now a towering stone column, crashed down with force.

The Blackfang Legion soldier, already grievously wounded and missing an arm, saw his combat strength drastically reduced and stood no chance against the hammer.

He barely had time to react before looking up to see the silver hammer plummeting from the sky.

His thick Blackfang Armor was smashed by the silver hammer as if it were a pristine pane of glass, shattering instantly into myriad fragments.

The soldier's true face, now revealed from beneath his armor, contorted as his bones emitted a series of cracks.

Thick strands of silver lightning, like serpents, wrapped around him, tightening rapidly.

Amidst his agonized howls, the soldier's muscles withered, and he gradually succumbed to death.

"Wu! Wu!"

Wei Feng, her wrists bound by Yu Yuan and a gag stuffed in her mouth, snapped awake to the horrific sight of Lei Xiao mercilessly killing the strongest member of their group.

Her eyes, unlike the cold indifference she had shown earlier towards Yu Yuan's previous victim, were filled with urgency and despair. Tragically, now in Yu Yuan's clutches, she was powerless to intervene.

"The Blackfang Legion will not spare you!"

In that moment, the remaining soldiers clad in heavy armor lost all sense of themselves and lunged at the young sect disciples brought by Liu Wei and Lei Xiao.

They seemed to understand that directly confronting Lei Xiao and Liu Wei would be futile.

Their hopes were pinned on taking down the inexperienced young men and women.

However, the seven disciples from the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite, who appeared young and unseasoned, each wielded sharp blades and protective gear.

In comparison to the Blackfang Legion, the official disciples of the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite were considerably more affluent.

Their assault and the so-called mutual destruction were utterly pointless.

One Blackfang Legion soldier, who had reversed his spell to blow open the Golden Sanctum and the middle elixir field acupoint, suddenly burst apart, with blood and shattered bones spraying in every direction.

The scene was a gruesome display of bloodshed and violence, radiating an imposing force.

Regrettably for them, a plump-faced woman from the Thunder Sect nonchalantly unfurled a black umbrella, creating a lightning barrier that deflected all the splattered blood and bone fragments.

The seven disciples from the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite looked on at the carnage with expressions of disgust.

"Thunder Sect! Winter's Bite!"

Bai Shenshen, standing to the side, watched as a Blackfang Legion squad that had nearly succeeded in killing her was quickly reduced to only Wei Feng.

She should have felt a surge of triumph.

Yet, as the remaining Blackfang Legion soldiers and the Subtlety-ranked squad leader were effortlessly obliterated on the spot by the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite, her joy was muted.

According to Liu Wei and Lei Xiao, capturing this Blackfang Legion troop was not a task that could be accomplished overnight.

The delay was partly due to the difficulty in pinpointing their location, and partly because they lacked full confidence in capturing Wei Feng alive.

Capturing her alive was significantly more challenging than killing her.

Especially Wei Feng, who, upon realizing there was no chance of escape, would immediately opt for suicide in various ways.

"Winter's Bite!"

Not far from Bai Shenshen, Ning Ji, following Yu Yuan's instructions and intending to join forces with her, was quietly regulating his breathing to avoid becoming too emotionally unsettled.

He had learned from Yu Yuan that it was Liu Wei who had surreptitiously attacked him during his attempt to advance to the Veil Breaking state.

Liu Wei's interference had caused his breakthrough to fail, leaving behind a chilling current that eroded and injured him relentlessly, day and night. Without Yu Yuan's help, he might have had to endure the relentless torment of the cold, possibly freezing to death within a matter of months. His adversary stood before him; even after successfully advancing to the Veil Breaking Stage with the aid of the Sunfire Elixir, he was still no match. He had no choice but to suppress his impulses, constantly reminding himself not to make any rash moves. He feared that losing his composure could negatively impact Yu Yuan and bring trouble to the entire Yu family.

"Alright." Liu Wei's mood was quite pleasant as he watched the soldiers of the Blackfang Legion fall one by one, and with Wei Feng still captured alive, he shifted his attention back to Yu Yuan and asked with a smile, "Mr. Yu, could you repeat what you just said? I didn't quite catch it."

The Subtlety-ranked soldiers of the Blackfang Legion had been slain, and the survivors met their swift demise. This served as the most direct form of intimidation. As soon as Liu Wei spoke, Lei Xiao and the seven disciples from the Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite Sect all cast playful glances at Yu Yuan, treating him as a source of amusement now that the outcome seemed decided.

The Blackfang Legion, renowned as one of the top three forces in Aetherius, might have been feared in this world, but to them, it was hardly worth consideration. Coming from a higher realm and regarding Aetherius as an inferior one, they felt a natural sense of superiority.

"I said she was captured by me, so naturally, she belongs to me," Yu Yuan stated confidently, pointing at Wei Feng, whose whimpers were subsiding. Despite her cold eyes filled with endless hatred and murderous intent, Yu Yuan remained composed and smiled. "The Winter's Bite and Thunder Sect are both esteemed sects of Euwrea. Surely they wouldn't abandon all sense of reason, would they?"

"Reason?" Liu Wei chuckled dismissively, while the others looked on with peculiar expressions.

"Very well, let's talk about reason," Liu Wei said, nodding slowly. "Before I went to cultivate at Winter's Bite, I hailed from the Sunblessed Empire, a descendant of the King of Wraiths."

Upon hearing those words, Yu Yuan's gaze took on an unusual cast.

Bai Shenshen, standing behind them, let out a sound, her reaction growing more pronounced.

Liu Wei suddenly turned to glance at Bai Shenshen and said, "Not long ago, I went to the Serpent Spine Mountains for a trial. The inexplicable disappearance of Liu Zaihe, a junior member of our Liu family, occurred there. We intend to visit Sacred Hands and demand an explanation from Mr. Shi."

After a pause, Bai Shenshen admitted, "I'm not aware of the details."

"Let's set that aside for now," Liu Wei huffed before addressing Yu Yuan once more, "The Liu family is a pillar of the Sunblessed Empire. Even though I've become a disciple of Winter's Bite, the mark of the Liu family remains. The Blackfang Legion betrayed the Sunblessed Empire, committing unspeakable atrocities, and we of the Liu family are among the aggrieved."

"The empire and my family have both placed a great responsibility upon me: to apprehend Wei Feng and deliver her to them alive."

"The one responsible for poisoning members of the Liu family, leading to multiple fatalities, is none other than Wei Feng. Hence, she is my primary target on this mission. She belongs to me."

Lei Xiao and the disciples from Winter's Bite and Thunder Sect saw no issue with this.

Yu Yuan listened, then nodded, saying, "If that's the case, your pursuit of Wei Feng and your actions against the Blackfang Legion's soldiers are justified. However, Wei Feng clashed with us first and was subsequently captured by us. Since she fell into my hands first, she is, by rights, mine. Isn't that logical?"

"You can't just disregard the feud between Wei Feng and your Liu family and snatch her from me without justification."

He stood his ground, undeterred by the affiliations of Winter's Bite or Thunder Sect.

"What are you suggesting?" Liu Wei was taken aback.

He had laid out his case so clearly that anyone with sense would have handed over Wei Feng to ensure their own safety.

Yet Yu Yuan seemed to be haggling with him.

"If you want the person I've captured, shouldn't you name your price?" Yu Yuan proposed.

"Liu Wei, is this man the young master of the Yu family? Lin Zhuyun's betrothed?" A robust man, a practitioner in the middle period of Veil Breaking, stepped forward, eyeing Yu Yuan with a slanted gaze. "You're not as foolish as they say, are you? Wasn't there a rumor that Lin Zhuyun's fiancé was simple-minded?"

"Is he Lin Zhuyun's fiancé?"

"He looks a bit foolish, doesn't he? If he weren't, why would he dare to haggle with us?"

"He's rather handsome, though! It's just that his cultivation level is too low, merely at the Golden Sanctum stage. I'm afraid he doesn't have much of a future ahead of him. Such a shame."

"Hold on, didn't Lin Zhuyun say he perished in the Moonfall Sanctuary?"

The seven youths from Thunder Sect and Winter's Bite, visiting Aetherius for the first time, observed Yu Yuan and engaged in animated discussion.

Clearly, Lin Zhuyun, who had recently joined Winter's Bite, had already made a name for herself there.

"Name your price?" Liu Wei burst into hearty laughter, bending over with mirth as he pointed at Yu Yuan and remarked, "You're quite the character. Do you really think this is Thylethlume or Asvetaesi? You've ventured deep into this desolate place; do you honestly expect to strike a fair deal here?"

Throughout their journey, they had encountered various outlaws from the Silvermoon Empire and Sunblessed Empire.

These were easily subdued, serving as stepping stones for the sects' young disciples to accumulate combat experience.

This peculiar land fell outside the jurisdiction of both empires. Here, they were free to act as they pleased, without much concern for repercussions.

"Isn't Winter's Bite known for being an honorable sect?" Yu Yuan expressed his surprise. "Are you saying that, like the Colddeath and Binders of Shadows, they resort to indiscriminate killing when out of sight?"

His words left some from the two sects looking sheepish and guilt-ridden.

Yet Liu Wei remained composed, responding, "Ever since I embarked on the path of cultivation, danger has been ever-present. One cannot always adhere to conventions without constraining oneself."

"There's still someone from Sacred Hands here," Yu Yuan pointed out, gesturing toward Bai Shenshen.

Unperturbed, Liu Wei was about to respond when he suddenly furrowed his brow.

"I'm also here. Do you intend to murder someone from Asvetaesi right before my eyes?"

Yuan Lianyao's alluring, soft voice timely intervened, and in the next moment, she appeared, surrounded by a whirl of fiery lotus flowers, propelling her forward with a roar.

...