Love & Redemption
Chapter 229: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, - 36 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (9)

Chapter 229: Volume 5 Phoenix Flower Blooms, Chapter 36 Jun Tian Sea Strategy (9)

Sorry, it seems I got the promotional date wrong. It should be the 26th.

So I’ll update two Chapters today, as the drafts really aren’t sufficient. I’ll save the third update for the promotional period... what a blunder~ I truly am a novice.

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As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Yuan Lang was the name of an ancestor, why was the Vice Palace Master also called by this name? Yu Sifeng’s hands trembled slightly as he incredulously stared at the Vice Palace Master, who was glowing golden in midair. How could he be Yuan Lang? He was clearly his master’s own brother! His biological brother!

The Vice Palace Master slowly raised his hand and removed the Shura mask from his face. His features, appearing for the first time before the public, were different from his usually sly demeanor; although his body was slender, he had a face with thick brows and large eyes, radiating a masculine vigor. His gaze was piercing as he looked at Wuzhiqi and sneered, "Monkey! In the end, the Juntian Ring still belongs to me! Don’t even dream of taking it away!"

Wuzhiqi took a deep breath, puzzled, "Strange, that face of yours isn’t Yuan Lang’s! Who exactly are you?"

The Vice Palace Master chuckled softly, lightly saying, "Fool! You are still as dim-witted as ever, Wuzhiqi!"

Wuzhiqi, scratching his head, was indeed utterly baffled. Yu Sifeng murmured, "Could it be... like Xuanji? Reincarnation and rebirth?!" He thought hard about the past events and gradually became convinced that this person was indeed Yuan Lang reincarnated. Otherwise, how could he know so much about the Great Palace Master’s private matters and even drive himself out of Lize Palace? They had all thought that the Vice Palace Master wanted to seize the real power of Lize Palace, but they were wrong. Lize Palace, no matter how powerful, was just a Cultivation Sect in the mortal world, and its establishment was just for Yuan Lang’s selfish desires—to reclaim the Juntian Ring and gain immense demon power.

The poor schemes he did in private were merely to make others believe that his goal was to usurp power. Who would have thought that he actually was Yuan Lang? Thus, he had counted on Wuzhiqi’s stubborn but tender-hearted nature, remaining so composed earlier. It turns out that all the advice he gave to Xuanji, making the Great Palace Master furious to the point of spitting blood, enticing him to fetch the Juntian Ring from the Netherworld, and inducing him to make that venomous oath—all were well-calculated! He had already known that even if he didn’t ask Wuzhiqi, he would eventually give the Juntian Ring to him because of Xuanji’s face!

The appearance of the Vermilion Bird must have disrupted his original plan, so he sharply questioned with the intention of confusing the honest man—knowing full well that Wuzhiqi would not push further, and the Juntian Ring would necessarily be returned to Heaven. To snatch the Juntian Ring, it all depended on that moment!

Walking through this step by step, he was then horrified to realize how deep this person’s schemes ran. Previously, he only felt that the Vice Palace Master was odd, doing many things that baffled everyone, seemingly good at times and bad at others; it turns out the truth was like this! He finally understood!

Yu Sifeng stepped forward a few paces and demanded fiercely, "What have you done to my master?!"

Retrieving the Juntian Ring was a grave matter! How could the Great Palace Master not be present? His absence meant only one possibility: he had been framed by Yuan Lang, maybe even killed.

Yuan Lang looked at him with a smiling gaze, admiringly saying, "To think that a clever man like you would emerge from the Golden Winged Bird Clan! Indeed, it was right not to let you stay. Your father isn’t dead, after all, he is still my brother in this life. Today, I’ll be kind to tell you, so you know that the antidote for the Lover’s Curse was formulated by me. It not only erases those memories but probably also neutralizes the demon power. You should stop dawdling here and go back quickly to check on him, otherwise, if your dad soaks too long in the dungeon’s filthy water, I can’t guarantee what will happen."

Yu Sifeng cursed under his breath, turned his face, and stormed out, but was stopped by the blood fog, turning his face deathly pale. Zi Hu quickly grabbed him, urging, "Si Feng, don’t rush! Xuanji! Come and calm him down! Xuanji?" She turned her head, only to see Xuanji staring fixedly at the Juntian Ring on Yuan Lang’s wrist, completely ignoring everything around her, as if bewitched. Zi Hu cried out in alarm, "What is going on! Wuzhiqi! Stop fooling around with words! Act quickly!"

Wuzhiqi laughed, "Alright, since Little Fox asked me to act, I’ll act. Yuan Lang, don’t think putting on a ring means I can’t handle you! In your past life, you were a dark and useless loser, and in this life, you’re still a loser! I can’t believe I used to call someone like you my brother; it’s a disgrace!"

As his words fell, he suddenly leaned forward, swinging his arm, and a bright silver light shot out, identical to the light Zi Hu had seen in Abyss Hell. In his hand, he held a silver hook, taller than a man and oddly shaped, built in segments like sharp bones strung together. That silver light was emitted by this Sea Control Hook.

A huge sound of "woof" rang out, and the entire inn began to shake violently, dust falling everywhere. The guests and staff who had been squatting on the floor cried and screamed, trapped with no place to run. Suddenly, light burst from above—the hook had caught the top half of the inn, disappearing into the thick blood fog, vanishing in the blink of an eye as the blood fog pressed down, looming just two to three feet above everyone’s heads. Now everyone was too stunned to cry, just staring in disbelief.

Yuan Lang surged upwards, touching the blood fog, evidently cautious, and was forced to land on the ground, sneering, "Where are you cutting?!"

Wuzhiqi propped the Sea Control Hook on his shoulder and also laughed, "What, did I not strike properly?"

Yuan Lang’s face suddenly changed, and he furiously looked down, only to see that the arm encircled by the Juntian Ring had been severed! The Sea Control Hook was so fast that he didn’t even feel the pain, and blood hadn’t even begun to seep out yet. He screamed miserably, grabbed his severed arm, and frantically searched the ground for his lost hand.

Wuzhiqi raised the severed hand in his hand, laughed, and asked, "Yuan Lang, is this what you are looking for?" The severed wrist was shockingly adorned with the glittering Juntian Ring, and Yuan Lang bellowed, "Give it back to me!" He lunged forward, desperately trying to snatch it back. Wuzhiqi stepped back, pulled off the Juntian Ring, tossed the severed hand onto his face, and laughed, "Here you go!"

Yuan Lang brushed off the severed hand and roared, "Wuzhiqi! You shameless villain! Now that you possess the Sea Control Hook, you keep stealing the Juntian Ring from me thrice-over! Where is the Divine General? Why don’t you catch him? Seize him! Use maximum punishment! He stole everything! It has nothing to do with me!"

Wuzhiqi watched his frenzy expressionlessly, saying nothing. Vermilion Bird grabbed Yuan Lang’s arm from behind, restraining him, and sternly said, "Quiet! How dare you! Do you know what crime you have committed?" His questioning was upright and forceful, so theatrical that it even made Wuzhiqi smirk.

"Attempting to seize a Divine Artifact is a grave sin, deliberately flaunting your demon power to harm mortals is another grave sin! However... your greatest crime is unauthorized reincarnation! Yuan Lang! I remember you now! The Golden Winged Bird that once ingratiated itself with Heaven. If I’m not mistaken, according to the Judge’s Book of Life and Death, it’s not even your time to reincarnate in the Lower Realm, is it?"

Wuzhiqi curiously said, "What? You mean, it wasn’t even his time to reincarnate, and he just... damn it, reincarnated himself?"

Vermilion Bird nodded, "Exactly! The cycle of heaven and earth follows its own law, and unauthorized departure from the law to reincarnate in the Lower Realm is a serious crime! Yuan Lang, I will take you to the Heavenly Court, where Emperor Bai will interrogate you!"

Subdued by him and deprived of the Juntian Ring, Yuan Lang’s surging demon power vanished without a trace, and he couldn’t move at all. Coupled with the excruciating pain from his severed arm, he couldn’t help but wail miserably, "Heaven’s ways are unjust! The one who erred is not me! Why pin Wuzhiqi’s crimes on me over and over? Where are the promised official titles and nobility? Where is the cheerful persuasion that seduced me into rebellion? It turns out Heaven also plays deceitful tricks! If only I had known, I..."

"If only you had known, you wouldn’t have betrayed me, right?" Wuzhiqi picked his nose, leisurely speaking, and finally flicked a booger onto his face, saying with a mischievous grin, "Don’t dream anymore; think I’m a fool? Hmm, I did intend to kill you myself, to end millennia of indignation, but now I’ve changed my mind. Why let you die so easily? Living is true suffering! Let me tell you, Abyss Hell is really fun; you should take a seat, and I guarantee you’ll have no regrets."

Vermilion Bird said gravely, "Yuan Lang! Ascending to immortality requires destiny! You had no fate with immortality in your previous life, which is why the Judge was ordered to call your soul early, waiting for the next cycle. If you had patiently waited and followed the proper cycle, this life could have allowed you to ascend to immortality! Who would have thought you’d be so shortsighted, truly fated to never align with Heaven."

Yuan Lang’s face was ashen as if he were dead, staring blankly, his lips trembling. Finally, he was truly speechless. Who was it that said, "Heaven’s misdeeds are survivable, self-inflicted ones are not"? Wasn’t this self-inflicted?

Vermilion Bird extended his hand toward Wuzhiqi: "Hand it over!"

Playing dumb, Wuzhiqi rubbed his head and laughingly asked, "Hand over what?"

"The Juntian Ring!" Vernilion Bird glared, exasperated as he said, "Monkey, don’t try any tricks! Your escape from prison hasn’t been forgotten, and we’ll hold you accountable sooner or later! Do you want to add another charge?"

Wuzhiqi pondered for a moment, then took out the Juntian Ring, waved it in front of Yuan Lang, and softly said, "Fool, to think you’d go mad over such a thing. Have you truly forgotten the fond memories of our past nights spent in shared laughter and conversation?"

Yuan Lang’s lips still trembled, and he remained speechless.

Wuzhiqi calmly said, "After all, we are brothers; allow me to perform one last ritual for you!" Having said that, he grabbed the Juntian Ring with both hands and forcefully twisted it—snap! The world-renowned Divine Artifact shattered into pieces right in his hands!

Everyone gasped in unison, and Wuzhiqi smiled faintly, scattering the fragments into the air, whispering, "There goes the thing! Next life... if you have a next life, I hope you won’t chase such illusions again!"

"Wuzhiqi!" Vermilion Bird was so shocked that his hair stood on end, pointing at him with trembling fingers, unable to believe he would dare to shatter the Juntian Ring right in front of him! Just as he was about to explode, he suddenly heard Zi Hu screaming, "Xuanji! Xuanji, what’s wrong with you?!"

Yu Sifeng was startled and quickly turned around, only to see Xuanji with her eyes tightly shut, her face deathly pale, fainting in Zi Hu’s arms.