Love & Redemption
Chapter 226: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, - 33 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (6)

Chapter 226: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, Chapter 33 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (6)

Originally, Yu Sifeng intended that since the Heavenly Emperor was to visit Kunlun Mountain in two months’ time, they would visit Li Ze Palace first during this period to resolve the issue with the Juntian Ring, thus fulfilling a wish. However, before he could finish suggesting this, Wuzhiqi outright rejected it.

"Do I really need to deliver myself to their doorstep?" Wuzhiqi asked, brazenly defiant; Yu Sifeng was left without a response.

"If you want your stuff back, come and find it yourself. I want to see what they’re capable of."

Seeing that Liu Yihuan and Yu Sifeng remained silent, Xuanji asked, "Wuzhiqi, you once mentioned that the people from Li Ze Palace betrayed you. What exactly happened?"

Wuzhiqi seemed reluctant to answer the question. He propped his head, thinking for a long time, and finally, with a push from Zi Hu, he responded indolently, "You have a sister in this life, right? Let me ask you, how would you feel if one day your sister betrays you to your enemy to lay her hands on one of your treasures?"

Xuanji paused, then stammered, "How could Linglong possibly do such a thing..."

Wuzhiqi shrugged, "I used to think it was impossible too. He and I were like brothers, sharing the good times and the bad, never questioning trust. There were rumors that a treasure lost by a Heavenly God was stored in the Heavenly Treasury. Ambitious as we were, we felt we were no less than those immortals in Heaven; why should they hoard treasures while we didn’t even have dust? Then, I went to Kunlun Mountain, and under the shifting light of day, I sneaked up to Heaven to steal that treasure... Heh, as you now know, the so-called treasure was the Jun Tian Sea Strategy. Who left it there, I don’t know, I just stole it all in one go."

"The Juntian Ring was of no use to me, but it had all sorts of wonderful uses for my brother, whereas I was so fond of the Sea Control Hook I couldn’t let it go. So, I gave the Juntian Ring to that brother. I guess that’s when our differences began."

Yu Sifeng asked, "Could it be that your brother wanted to keep both treasures for himself?"

Wuzhiqi shook his head and laughed, "Not really. Seeing that a single Juntian Ring greatly enhanced his demon power, he was naturally overjoyed and convinced that Divine Artifacts were excellent things. The thievery was all my doing; he wasn’t involved, so he suspected I was hiding other treasures from him. Coincidentally, not long after my theft was discovered by the immortals above, they sent someone down to capture me. The first time I used the Sea Control Hook, with just one swipe, I killed most of the Divine Generals who came for me — that thing is genuinely domineering. Of course, after this fight, my notoriety reached Heaven, and they became dead set on eliminating me, leading to many troubles later... But that’s a story for another time. When my brother saw how powerful the Sea Control Hook was, he became even more convinced that I was hiding other treasures and not sharing with him. After our first major argument, in a fit of anger, I threw the Sea Control Hook at him, telling him to give it a try. He couldn’t even cut down a tree with it, proving that the Divine Artifact really wasn’t suitable for him. I thought that would make him give up, but while he appeared to reconcile with me, he was secretly convinced I was still hiding other things from him. Alas, when I met him, I knew he was someone who doesn’t show his feelings, hiding any grievances in his belly, like a poisonous snake waiting for the perfect moment to strike a lethal blow."

"The fact that I had killed many Divine Generals infuriated the Heavenly Realm, and from that point on, I never had a day of peace. If it wasn’t one group coming to assassinate me, it was another challenging me. After I killed countless Divine Generals, that old Heavenly Emperor probably regretted his actions. He was a decent fellow, thought I was talented, and seemed to want to recruit me. He said that as long as I returned the Juntian Sea Control Hook, they would not hold my theft and killings against me, and he even offered to appoint me to an official rank. I discussed it with my brother, suggesting we return the artifacts. After all, we were just demons, relying on the power of the Divine Artifacts, but opposing Heaven was not something I desired. Firstly, it’s troublesome, and secondly, I always felt I was at fault and regretted killing so many Divine Generals. I didn’t want any official post. I preferred living freely, calling friends for a drink, boasting, enjoying life. But my brother berated me for having the mercy of a woman, and we had another big argument, almost coming to blows."

"Seeing that I was slow to respond, the Heavenly Emperor concluded we were conspiring to rebel against Heaven and became even less merciful, sending a large force to kill us. They made their move, and of course, we wouldn’t just let them slaughter us. I had many hot-blooded friends below who came to aid me against Heaven without question, and the situation escalated. After I unleashed a great flood to inundate the Heavenly Court in a fit of rage, I suddenly realized that the situation had spiraled out of control. None of what I did was what I wanted; it was all just about maintaining face and completely unreasonable. Many immortals died in Heaven, but I lost many friends too. Their deaths were also meaningless because of our whims. That day I decided to return the treasures. Whatever Heaven wanted — to kill or punish — they should come at me alone. While my brother was unawares, I stole his Juntian Ring, intending to find an opportunity to return it to Heaven, when I encountered the War God General—"

Just as Xuanji was listening intently, she was surprised to hear her own mention, and unintentionally pointed to her nose. Wuzhiqi laughed heartily and nodded, "Yes, I met you. Mmm, after meeting you, I suddenly had a bad feeling. To say that you are skilled, indeed you are strong, but I wouldn’t lose to you that easily — of course, I can’t deny, I have a soft spot for beautiful women, which made me hesitate to use full force, and that’s a significant reason you could win. But how could the Heavenly Court think of using a beautiful female general to battle me? At that time, I vaguely felt that someone had betrayed me, revealing my weakness for beautiful women. But hey, fancying beautiful women is only natural, and I never hid it, so I never took it seriously. Then the day I was intercepted by you, I failed to return the Divine Artifact and was discovered by my brother who realized I had taken his Juntian Ring. He was furious, enough to cut ties with me completely. But he kept asking for the Juntian Ring back; naturally, I couldn’t give it to him because it was never ours in the first place. It was better to return it to Heaven, with me shouldering all the sins. What was there for him to fuss about?"

"Afterward, we fought fiercely; without the Juntian Ring, he was no match for me and left in a bitter rage. When I tried to return the artifact again, the War God appeared before me for the second time. Distracted by this, I was captured by Heaven. Of course, what followed was interrogation and sentencing. Heh, I was one step too late; originally I wanted to return it first, but when I saw how tyrannical Heaven was, I stubbornly refused, hoping to infuriate them to death. The Juntian Sea Strategy was embedded within me — they could have it only by killing me. But Heaven prides itself on being compassionate and they claimed they’d spare my life and indeed did not kill me. They just imprisoned me in a small straw hut deep within Abyss Hell, and I was locked away for a thousand years. Later, well, I met you guys, and that’s more or less the story."

Wuzhiqi finished speaking, took a sip of tea, and his face was full of emotion. His experience, too, could be described as a rollercoaster of emotions that stirred one’s blood. Many earth-shattering events often stemmed from the most trivial of causes. When he went to Heaven to steal the Juntian Sea Control Hook, did he ever imagine that one day he would become a Great Demon shocking the Heavenly Court? The twists and turns of fate truly made one sigh with emotion.

Yu Sifeng pondered for a long while before saying, "The one who betrayed your weakness was your brother, wasn’t it? Heaven probably promised him some benefits, but after the Juntian Ring was stolen by you, his abilities were insufficient to ascend to the Heavenly Court, so he was forced to stay in the mortal world. But he was not willing to give up, so he organized his clan and, under the pretense of rescuing you, established the Li Ze Palace... When I was a child, I only knew that Li Ze Palace was committed to a great cause, but I never thought that this cause referred not only to saving you—their real purpose was to retrieve the Juntian Ring. Do they still dream of becoming Divine Officers in Heaven?"

"This? How would I know?" Wuzhiqi picked his nose and said, "It seems I’m not clear-sighted when it comes to people. However, considering they have been running around for a thousand years and eventually unlocked the Sea Stabilizing Iron Chain, I will return the Juntian Ring to them. But the accounts of a thousand years ago, we should settle clearly, right?"

Yu Sifeng hesitated, then said in a low voice, "It’s been a thousand years... Your brother from days past has long departed from this world. Perhaps he died on the journey to rescue you, leaving only his descendants behind, who bear you no grudge. I beseech you not to embark on a massacre."

Wuzhiqi let out a chuckle, slapped him on the shoulder, and casually wiped his booger on it, saying, "As humans, we must have a conscience, but when others wrong you and you still speak of conscience, you are a fool, and that’s not how people should act. You’ve been driven to the point of no return by that so-called Vice Palace Master, so you’re no longer one of Li Ze Palace’s own. Yet you still talk about loyalty to them—isn’t that foolish?"

Yu Sifeng did not respond. A conscience, perhaps! But he simply couldn’t bear it. The existence of Li Ze Palace was proof of the roots he once had, and moreover, his father was there, although he had completely forgotten himself. To cut it off would mean he truly became a person adrift. Even if he couldn’t return, it was once his home.

He pinched off the booger and smacked it back into Wuzhiqi’s hair, replying indifferently, "Do as you like."

"Are you angry?" Wuzhiqi grinned at him, and with nowhere else to dispose of the booger, he simply wiped it under the table, "You’re different. You’re a friend. I never do wrong by my friends."

Yu Sifeng snorted, but then he also smiled. Just as he was about to steer the conversation towards something lighter, he heard Liu Yihuan grunt and then a sharp "clang" as his tea cup was fiercely smashed on the floor. Everyone was startled and hurriedly turned to look, only to see him clutching his forehead where the Heavenly Eye was. The skin around his forehead suddenly wrinkled, as if countless veins were thrashing beneath, barely controllable.

Beading blood seeped through his fingers, and his palm seemed to hold a violently thumping small heart. Liu Yihuan suddenly leaped up, his upper body curling into a ball, and he cried out sharply, "Someone’s coming! Be careful!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he swayed and fell heavily to the ground. Yu Sifeng rushed to offer support, but he had already fainted. Only the Heavenly Eye on his forehead kept pulsating, the muscles in the entire forehead twitching and convulsing as beads of blood continued to flow from the crevices of the closed Heavenly Eye. Liu Yihuan’s face was quickly smeared with blood, creating a ghastly scene.

While everyone was in panic, someone at the entrance declared loudly, "Wuzhiqi has escaped from the Netherworld, and we, the juniors, have failed to welcome him. For any offense, we ask for your forgiveness."

The crowd hurriedly turned back, only to see that at some point, all the inn’s guests and staff had hidden themselves away, and many men in green robes, all wearing Shura masks, stood densely packed at the doorway—none other than the people of Li Ze Palace. The man at the forefront, wielding a peculiar feathered fan, waved it leisurely. If he wasn’t the Vice Palace Master, who else could he be? (To be continued. For more information, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available. Support the author, support genuine reading!)