Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1168 - 1168 0679 Increasing the Stakes_2

Chapter 1168: Chapter 0679: Increasing the Stakes_2 Chapter 1168: Chapter 0679: Increasing the Stakes_2 Before Emperor Jianwu could finish his words, he was rudely interrupted by a fierce glare and a thunderous shout.

“Enough, Lord Jianwu, don’t spout nonsense here. Shen Ziyu was killed by you, and that’s an undeniable fact. No matter what you say, it’s useless. You must take responsibility for Shen Ziyu’s death and pay the appropriate price. I’m reiterating for the last time, you must immediately hand over the murderer. Otherwise, don’t blame us for turning heartless. We originally only wanted the killer, but if you keep obstructing us, then we won’t mind killing a few more to give Shen Ziyu some company on his way to the Netherworld.”

Emperor Jianwu snorted and said, “I’ve already said that Shen Ziyu wasn’t killed by me, nor by any of us. It’s been made very clear. Yet you still demand we turn over the murderer. Isn’t that asking the impossible?”

The Gold Core Realm expert’s face darkened as he said, “It seems that Lord Jianwu and your accomplices are not going to shed tears until they see the coffin. Fine, sending Shen Ziyu alone to the Netherworld is too lonely. We’ll send him a few companions right away.”

Emperor Jianwu quickly gave a hand signal to Emperor Wenzhi and Emperor Yonghe standing beside him, prompting them to get ready.

If they could choose, none of these princes wanted to cross Manager Chen’s people, but some things had to be done whether they liked it or not. Not to mention that they couldn’t turn over Qi Tian, the killer of Shen Ziyu—even if they could, they wouldn’t do it.

Manager Chen had already turned against them, and the issue wouldn’t be resolved merely by handing over a murderer. They would inevitably have to pay a terrible price to possibly appease Manager Chen’s wrath.

That price wasn’t only about the loss of cultivation resources but could even include many lives.

Killing people for a funeral, such acts, Manager Chen was definitely capable of, and it’s not like they hadn’t done the same in the past.

Emperor Jianwu’s repeated denials and evasions had completely enraged the Gold Core Realm expert who questioned him, and his eyes seemed ready to shoot flames as he said, “Lord Jianwu, I was ordered by Manager Chen to give you a chance, but now it seems you cherish it not at all, insisting we take the hard approach. Very well, as you wish. Let me show you our prowess.”

He then gave a sign to his two companions and said, “Zhou Ping, Ma Deru, join me in showing Lord Jianwu—who’s cowering behind the tomb gate—a demonstration of our capabilities. Let Lord Jianwu understand how he should choose.”

The scholar-robed man who was also flying in the air on his sword gave a respectful bow and asked, “Pan, where should we strike to let Emperor Jianwu know our fierceness?”

Pan looked down below and then pointed at the prohibitions and Arrays that Emperor Jianwu and his men had previously set up around the Saint’s Tomb, saying, “Let’s destroy them first. This is one layer of the two turtle shells they arranged. We’ll smash and shatter it directly, not only to hurt them but also to make their swollen heads come back to their senses, to know how to talk to us, to know how to comply with our demands and act accordingly.”

Zhou Ping and Ma Deru both nodded in agreement. Immediately after, the two of them flew out to the left and right, with Ma Deru, dressed in the garb of a scholar, taking the lead. He activated his flying sword beneath his feet and plummeted from the sky, rushing towards the prohibitions and Arrays laid out by Emperor Jianwu. As he approached, those prohibitions and Arrays were triggered. Unfazed, Ma Deru took out a magic staff and waved it repeatedly, sending bolts of lightning from his staff that struck those prohibitions and Arrays.

All these prohibitions and Arrays were difficult arrangements that Emperor Jianwu and his men had created using a substantial amount of Array resources. However, under the onslaught of Ma Deru’s lightning Spells, they were as fragile as paper mache, shattering upon impact, without a single one that could withstand the attack for even a moment longer.

At the same time, another Gold Core Realm powerhouse named Zhou Ping circled on his flying sword in mid-air, not descending, but that did not mean he posed any less of a threat to the prohibitions and Arrays. On the contrary, standing atop his flying sword, he continually threw jade amulets one after another. When these amulets fell upon the prohibitions and Arrays, they immediately exploded, wreaking havoc on the ground like plowing a field. The fate of the ground-based prohibitions and Arrays, needless to say, was total destruction without a single one remaining.

Zhou Ping and Ma Deru worked together, and without spending too much time, in less than an hour, the two had lifted all the prohibitions and Arrays set around the Saint’s Tomb, leaving none intact.

This scene left Emperor Jianwu seething with rage. Emperor Wenzhi and Emperor Yonghe, who were huddled behind him, were equally distressed. To set up these prohibitions and Arrays, including the three of them, they had taken out a vast amount of cultivation resources, organized a large workforce, and personally put in the effort over a significant amount of time, hoping that these prohibitions and Arrays would play a substantial role. To their dismay, they were so easily destroyed.

The fact that Zhou Ping and Ma Deru attacked from the air and targeted the weak points of these prohibitions and Arrays played a role, but from another perspective, the two of them working together to achieve this indicated the extent of their formidable strength, enough to fill them with dread. Indeed, this was the case. Zhou Ping and Ma Deru were in no way inferior in cultivation level to Shen Ziyu, who had died at the hands of Qi Tian. Either one of them alone was an opponent whom Jianwu and his men could not defeat.

Watching Zhou Ping and Ma Deru wreak havoc, Pan stood steadily on his flying sword, his expression unflinching. It was only after Zhou Ping and Ma Deru had finished their destruction and reported back to him that Pan, from high above, gazed down upon Emperor Jianwu, who was hiding by the tomb’s entrance, and said, “Lord Jianwu, at this point, you should realize the severity of the situation, right? Now, I’m giving you another chance. First, you must hand over the culprit who injured Shen Ziyu to us for punishment. Second, you must immediately leave the Saint’s Tomb and swear never to set foot here again. As for how this Saint’s Tomb will be dealt with in the future, you needn’t worry yourself, we will handle it.”

Emperor Jianwu had anticipated that Pan and his group wouldn’t be satisfied with just demanding the murderer. Indeed, Pan was now upping the ante based on that demand, seeking to exclusively possess the rights to explore the Saint’s Tomb beneath their feet and expel them, not willing to leave them even the slightest leftovers.

This was just the demand Pan had verbally expressed. If they complied with Pan’s request and came out of the Saint’s Tomb, they would then be without any external protection. At that time, if Pan and his group decided to act against them, they would be left without even a place to hide. It would undoubtedly result in a one-sided slaughter since none of them was a match for Pan and his group. Even if they joined forces, the chances of preserving themselves were virtually nil.

Emperor Jianwu was still looking for a way to stall, saying, “Your Excellency, you want us to vacate the Saint’s Tomb for you, but I wonder if this is Manager Chen’s request or if you added this on your own? If it is Manager Chen’s request, it is not impossible for us to vacate the place. But if this is something you’ve added on your own, aren’t you afraid that such actions might breed discontent in Manager Chen’s heart? The fortunes within this Saint’s Tomb, apart from us, the discoverers, I don’t think you are qualified to touch them—they should belong to Manager Chen, right?”