C331 Poor Person
The sun blazed overhead.
The Cloud Sail, congested with energy, began to slow its swift passage through the void. The Silvermoon Empire's veteran general stood at the prow, hands gripping the railing so tightly that his veins bulged.
His heart raced, his excitement causing his shoulders to quiver. Messages from Bai Shang trickled into his heart lake, one after another. He sensed their imminent arrival.
"General Li."
Su Xiangtian's soft call drew the general's attention, ensuring he was noticed. Lee Yuangui inhaled deeply, his gaze vacant as he turned to face the rising star of the nation. "What's the matter?"
Su Xiangtian, his temples touched with gray but his demeanor still dashing, looked troubled. "Old General, my daughter and I visited the Taiyuan Sect and have only just returned. I've heard rumors that our Empire has secretly allied with the Red Devil Sect?"
"Those are baseless rumors; pay them no heed," Lee Yuangui dismissed with a flick of his sleeve, casting a cold, warning glance at Yuan Lianyao.
Yuan Lianyao, who had received assurances from Lord Faang Yao and had been covertly summoned by Zhou Cangmin, was bewildered. Could it be that such esteemed figures would deceive her?
If there was no issue with the two powerful sect leaders, could there be something amiss with the trusted old general of the empress?
"I've spotted Yu Yuan."
Just then, Lee Yuchan, who had been projecting his Yin God high above, called out suddenly.
Many on the ship's edge squinted towards the ruins of a city, searching for any sign of Yu Yuan. Those lacking the strength to manifest their Yin God saw nothing.
Yang Yinquan, Lee Yuangui, and a handful of others fixed their gaze on Yu Yuan as soon as Lee Yuchan spoke.
"The Rainier Empire's Zhou Cangmin!"
"The Imperial Advisor is there too!"
"Zhou Cangmin, his Yin God journeying far, is actually accompanying Yu Yuan!"
"And who is that? The Python Queen Xu Zixi?"
"The Python Queen who has risen swiftly within the Divine Might Empire?"
"…"
Exclamations of shock erupted from the ship. Lee Yuangui had gathered practitioners from various nations and power blocs aboard. The cultivators and the nation's elite began to buzz with conversation.
In the midst of the crowd, Wei Feng stood solitary, her expression detached and aloof. She seemed deaf to the surrounding murmurs of conversation.
From the Zhao family, Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang, whether by design or coincidence, had drawn near to Wei Feng, casting curious glances her way from time to time. Zhao Yafu, graced with the favor of the White Divine Tiger and bestowed with a jade plate symbolizing her status, was already counted among the ranks of the Demon Palace. Zhan Tianxiang, a recipient of the Golden Elephant Ancient God's secret teachings from a young age and a practitioner of the orthodox Demon Spell, was likewise a disciple of the Demon Palace.
Humans who practiced the Demon Spell were exceedingly rare. Yet, those with exceptional talent and bodies of unusual quality capable of enduring the rigors of the Demon Spell without succumbing to an early demise were often individuals of great fortitude and fortune. Indeed, there were humans who had risen to the stature of Great Demons within the Demon Palace.
Both Zhan Tianxiang and Zhao Yafu had honed their skills in the Demon Spell and earned the Demon Palace's recognition. Eventually, they were destined to set foot in the Demon Palace on the Quietus Continent and delve deeper into their advancement.
It must have been the extraordinary aura emanating from Wei Feng that prompted the two to approach her. Zhan Tianxiang, after a prolonged stare, cracked a sly grin and let out a strange chuckle, "They say adversity breeds camaraderie. I truly didn't expect us to be birds of a feather."
Wei Feng shot him a frosty glance and huffed dismissively.
"I'm not one to bear grudges," Zhan Tianxiang remarked with a mischievous grin.
Wei Feng simply lowered her head, uninterested in engaging further.
"Is that really Yu?" Zhao Yafu, perched at the ship's rail, finally caught sight of Yu Yuan as the Cloud Sail drew near once again, guided by the chatter of others. "How odd! Yu's finger is resting just above a brown eyeball. That eye belongs to a massive skull, resembling that of a Great Demon."
"Where? Show me!" Zhan Tianxiang's curiosity piqued, and he quickly joined her side.
Wei Feng, who had been quietly seated in solitude, finally rose languidly and made her way to the ship's edge, eager to discern the situation for herself.
In a swift motion, a shadowy figure materialized before Wei Feng like a specter.
With just a glance, Wei Feng's head spun, her consciousness slipping into a haze.
"Wei Feng, Wei Feng!"
Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang cried out together.
The enigmatic Bai Shang, who had arrived silently, seized Wei Feng by the nape of her neck, nodding at Lee Yuangui as if he were holding a small chick, "Much obliged."
Wei Feng was already unconscious.
Startled by the sudden disturbance, Yang Yinquan, Su Xiangtian, and the other cultivators aboard the ship snapped their gazes in that direction.
Van Yan, who had previously clashed with Bai Shang, now watched him with a growing sense of dread, instinctively shrinking back into the crowd as if to avoid Bai Shang's notice.
Regrettably for him, Bai Shang didn't spare him a second glance.
With Wei Feng in his grasp, Bai Shang shared a brief look with Lee Yuangui before whisking her away like a zephyr from the Cloud Sail, vanishing in an instant.
"Old General, what's happening here?" Su Xiangtian demanded.
Both Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang had detected the deeply concealed demonic energy within Wei Feng and turned to Lee Yuangui with astonished expressions.
Even Yang Yinquan of the Taiyuan Sect sensed that something was amiss and approached Lee Yuangui with a questioning look, eager to learn the identity of Bai Shang.
Bai Shang's presence alone had made him uneasy.
"Bai Shang is acting on a secret order from the Empress," Lee Yuangui stated gravely.
With the Empress of the Silvermoon Empire invoked, Su Xiangtian, Lee Yuchan, and all the empire's dignitaries found themselves unable to press further.
Although Yang Yinquan was from the Taiyuan Sect, it wasn't his place to delve deeper at this juncture.
Yet, a shadow of doubt hung over everyone's minds, sensing that the empire's old general was off somehow, and suspecting Bai Shang of harboring ulterior motives and plans.
With a thud, Bai Shang dropped the unconscious Wei Feng onto a strip of purple silk on the ground.
The silk, shimmering as if woven from purple mists, caused Wei Feng to shrink dramatically the moment she touched it, transforming her into a miniature version of herself.
She awoke with a start, only to find herself in a strange realm bathed in a sea of purple light.
There, amidst the ethereal clouds of purple brilliance, sat a diminutive figure donning a sinister mask.
"Lord Military Commander!"
Joy finally flickered across Wei Feng's face, like a drowning person clutching desperately at a lifeline. "Ever since your voice echoed across my heart lake, I've been silently aboard the Empire's gilded treasure ship. I refrained from suicide and didn't engage in battle with Wai Wujiang; I was merely awaiting your next command."
Shen Feiqing's voice was deep and raspy, "You've done well."
Relief washed over Wei Feng as she looked up with reverence. "I witnessed you, my lord, tearing through the spatial rift and slaying the Silverfrost Dragon. I saw you take down Jiaang Moyan!"
Shen Feiqing's gaze remained undisturbed, her eyes as still as an ancient well, and she remained silent.
Bai Shang's silhouette emerged abruptly from the external realm, materializing in this small domain aglow with purple radiance and scattered clouds. His eyes swept over Wei Feng with a touch of pity.
"It's you!" Wei Feng's face paled as she blurted out in alarm, "Commander, he's the one who captured me!"
"I'm aware," Shen Feiqing responded coolly.
"Pitiful, indeed," Bai Shang said with a chilly detachment. "You know nothing, yet you think you're her savior. You believe you've been fiercely defending her, even daring to defy the Divine Might Empire and forsake your allegiance, all for her sake."
"Humans are the most deceitful and heartless beings, not us of the Earth Demon Clan."
Bai Shang shook his head in dismay. "Across the vastness of the Boundless Land, humans have ascended to the pinnacle, stepping over the remains of dragons, great demons, and Earth Demons. Beyond the stars, they've stood against the Devaputra, decimating entire races, all powered by their fearsome nature."
His words sent a chill through Wei Feng, who now looked at Shen Feiqing with a mix of fear and despair.
Bai Shang had revealed more than enough.
The commander she had idolized, who had taken her in as a child and raised her within the Tusk Troops, who had always shielded and defended her, now regarded her with a gaze that made her knees quake.
His eyes beheld her as one might admire a fine piece of art, a magnificent gem, or a feast of exquisite dishes and rare wines.
Yet, they did not seem to see her as a person.
