Chapter 1496: Counting Money

Jīn Wū Huáng narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within. He knew perfectly well that the other party was extorting him, but he didn't dare order an attack immediately. After all, the Eighth Prince was his child, even if born of a concubine.

He might think that way, but the eight Jīn Wū Zǔ great saints beside him did not share his view. "That's your child, but it's also ours. Our children and grandchildren have already met tragic deaths, and it was all because of the Crown Prince. Now your family is safe and sound—why should we stand for that?"

The eight Jīn Wū great saints had blood-red eyes, their killing intent surging, as if they were ready to charge forward right then. Having lost their loved ones, they had lost all reason and didn't care if he was the emperor.

Sensing the situation turning dire, Jīn Wū Huáng quickly tossed out a storage bag, doing so with lightning speed.

Yè Chén caught the storage bag and immediately opened it. "That's more like it!"

"Don't dawdle—release my son," Jīn Wū Huáng snapped coldly, looking as if he might rush over at any moment.

"Hold on, I need to count it first," Yè Chén said, shaking his head leisurely. "This is my retirement fund—I can't afford to lose any of it. My whole later life depends on this."

His words amused everyone around. Watching Yè Chén count the stones one by one, they couldn't help but sigh. "His family was wiped out—he must have been traumatized."

"Nine million Yuán Shǐ just like that—talk about easy money," some envious onlookers muttered, stroking their chins and thinking about kidnapping a few people themselves to demand Yuán Shǐ.

Jīn Wū Huáng watched quietly without intervening, sending a message to the Jīn Wū great saints: "He wiped out so many of us in one night and raided our major branches—he must have accomplices. Notify everyone and activate the Fēng Tiān Jiè Jiè. Our Jīn Wū Zǔ's money isn't that easy to take."

Though the Jīn Wū great saints were seething with anger, they still relayed the message. They wanted to settle scores with the Jīn Wū Crown Prince, but that could wait until after the ransom was paid—this wasn't the place for it.

"Nine million Yuán Shǐ, counting them one by one—that'll take until the year of the monkey and the horse," Jīn Wū Huáng said calmly, but the onlookers were getting impatient. They hadn't come all this way just to watch someone count money.

"Since you're all in such a hurry, I won't bother counting," Yè Chén said, clapping his hands and pocketing the storage bag. With a kick, he sent the Jīn Wū Eighth Prince flying back. "There, take your prince."

"My son!" Jīn Wū Huáng swiftly pulled the Eighth Prince back to his side. The prince was terrified, having never experienced anything like this before—always living in luxury, this scene was utterly frightening for him.

"First one's done, so let's move to the second. After the second, we'll do the third," Yè Chén said, waving his hand and summoning divine talismans one after another. From each talisman, a person emerged—all elders of the Jīn Wū Zǔ, each one a Zhǔn Shèng Wáng level expert.

"There's more? And all of them Zhǔn Shèng Wáng level?" The crowd exclaimed in surprise, staring at the mountaintop with odd expressions. "Just how many Jīn Wū Zǔ people did this old man capture?"

"This isn't ransom—it's outright extortion," people muttered, chuckling wryly.

"One million per person—take your pick, starting with that one," Yè Chén said with a grin, looking at Jīn Wū Huáng. "Your Jīn Wū Zǔ has plenty of money—you won't miss these small amounts."

Jīn Wū Huáng and the Jīn Wū great saints fell silent, their eyes blood-red as they glared at Yè Chén. Their killing intent raged, and the vast Cāngmáng Shān visibly froze inch by inch under the chill.

They could see it clearly now—this was pure, naked extortion. They were certain that even after paying for these, there would be more, and plenty of it. Each one cost a million—that was an enormous sum. Though the Jīn Wū Zǔ was powerful, they couldn't sustain such losses.

"Save me, my emperor!" The captured Jīn Wū Zhǔn Shèng Wáng experts shouted desperately, pleading with Jīn Wū Huáng—they knew their lives were in his hands.

"You're all useless—if you're going to die, so be it. Seize him for me!" The Jīn Wū Crown Prince roared viciously, bypassing Jīn Wū Huáng to order the cultivator army to attack.

"Who gave you the authority?" The Jīn Wū great saints thundered in anger. The Crown Prince's actions left them disheartened—he was the heir of the Jīn Wū Zǔ, yet he showed no regard for his people's lives.

"You all see it now—he's clearly extorting our Jīn Wū Zǔ," the Jīn Wū Crown Prince said with a cold smile. "We are the mighty Jīn Wū Zǔ—we won't be held hostage by anyone."

"And whose fault is that?" The Jīn Wū great saints erupted with wēi yā, furious enough to go mad. "The Jīn Wū Zǔ's heavy casualties and their plight are all because of you. Talking like this now is a disgrace to our clan."

"You..." The Jīn Wū Crown Prince's face turned ashen from their words, his already twisted features contorting further as he gritted his teeth, looking like a demonic beast, terrifying and sinister.

"Enough!" Jīn Wū Huáng snorted coldly, his imperial authority on full display, his expression as dark as could be.

"What a clever move!" The onlookers watched and clicked their tongues in admiration. "Not only is he striking at the Jīn Wū Zǔ, but he's also driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and the elders. That's some masterful strategy."

"Retribution—this is all retribution." Many people laughed quietly, cheering inwardly. "They should have expected this when they massacred the Yè family. Their rampant killings have outraged both heaven and earth!"

"I'm here for the ransom, not to watch you argue," Yè Chén said, picking at his ear. "So, what's it going to be—pay up or not? If not, I'll take them home and make soup."

"Of course, we'll pay." Jīn Wū Huáng's demeanor suddenly grew eerily calm. As he spoke, the heavens trembled with a buzzing sound. Massive light pillars shot up from the southeast, northwest, and other directions, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire Cāngmáng Shān—no one could escape.

"The Fēng Tiān Jiè Jiè?" The veteran cultivators narrowed their eyes, recognizing the barrier.

"What a bold move," Yè Chén glanced at it, familiar with the barrier from his time in the Hónghuāng Forest, where Kūnpéng and Jīn Wū had used it to trap him.

"Release them," Yè Chén said as Jīn Wū Huáng threw out storage bags one by one, each containing a million Yuán Shǐ. He had made up his mind to ransom back every Jīn Wū Zǔ member Yè Chén had, no matter the cost.

Once they were all freed, he would order an attack without hesitation. If this was Yè Chén's true form, he wouldn't escape Cāngmáng Shān—and Jīn Wū Huáng would reclaim every last piece of Yuán Shǐ.

"I knew it—the Jīn Wū Zǔ is loaded." Yè Chén casually collected the storage bags without a word, then kicked the captives back one by one.

Next, he started releasing more people, leaving the onlookers stunned.

Jīn Wū Huáng didn't bother yelling anymore; he suppressed his killing intent and just kept paying, storage bag after storage bag flying through the air. He would vent his fury once everyone was ransomed.

"He's so confident—he must have a plan," the Jīn Wū great saints messaged each other as they watched Jīn Wū Huáng throw Yuán Shǐ around like it was nothing, no longer arguing with the Crown Prince.

"I don't believe he can escape this Fēng Tiān Jiè Jiè," Jīn Wū Huáng said coldly, continuing to pay. "No matter how many accomplices he has, he's dying here today."

"Free money—why not take it?" Yè Chén happily accepted it all, not one to refuse. He had come to kill the Jīn Wū Crown Prince and hadn't expected to make a fortune, but since Jīn Wū Huáng was offering, he'd take it. After dealing with the Crown Prince, he could use the money to go after Kūnpéng.

What followed was nothing short of spectacular. Yè Chén released people one after another, and Jīn Wū Huáng paid just as quickly—Yè Chén was efficient, and Jīn Wū Huáng was equally swift.

The most amusing part was that neither said a word the whole time—it was all tacit understanding.

The crowd swallowed hard, gulp after gulp. "A million per storage bag!"

"What's the point of all that money?" Some old-timers stroked their beards. "The Jīn Wū Zǔ has activated the Fēng Tiān Jiè Jiè—he won't get away with it, no matter how much he extorts. Their money isn't easy to keep."

"How can he be so composed? What's his backup plan?" Many wondered. "Even with accomplices, can they take on a hundred thousand cultivators? And he can't even send the money out—what's this old man thinking?"

"His whole clan was wiped out, leaving just him—he's probably lost his mind from the trauma," a young cultivator remarked meaningfully. "If he dies, the Yè family will truly be extinct."

Amid the discussions, Yè Chén sent off the last captive, shrugging as if helpless. "That's all for now. If you want more, come back in a few days—I'll grab a few more then."

"Are you sure that's all?" Jīn Wū Huáng stared straight at Yè Chén, his aura rising steadily.

"The people are gone, but I do have two gifts for you," Yè Chén said with a laugh, forming a seal with one hand.

As his seal took effect, everyone ransomed except the Jīn Wū Eighth Prince exploded into blood mist, their spirits extinguished along with them.

A collective gasp echoed from the crowd, their eyes on Yè Chén changing—they saw him as mad, a complete lunatic. He had never intended to leave alive!

Jīn Wū Huáng and his group stared in shock, their eyes bulging and pupils shrinking to pinpoints as blood splattered across their faces.

Not only the onlookers were stunned—even they hadn't expected Yè Chén to have placed curses on the Jīn Wū Zǔ members' spirits. Ironically, these great saints hadn't noticed a thing.

They had ransomed them back, but what was the difference? They were all reduced to blood mist.

In the next instant, before anyone could react, another storage bag flew from Yè Chén's sleeve and burst open in midair.

Blood rain poured down, and bodies tumbled out, piling up on Cāngmáng Shān—one after another, all Jīn Wū Zǔ members, forming a mountain of corpses.

Then, a ten-zhàng-long white cloth landed precisely on the pile, with seven characters written in fresh blood: "Blame your own Crown Prince."

The scene was gruesome and shocking, dyeing Cāngmáng Shān red and making everyone's hearts skip a beat.

"Jīn Wū Huáng, do you like these two gifts?" Yè Chén's laughter echoed through the heavens. "No need to thank me—thank your Crown Prince. This is all courtesy of him."