Chapter 911: A Generation's Nightmare

Chapter 911: A Generation's Nightmare

The night in Nan Zhao was peaceful and serene.

On the comfortable bed, Ye Chen had fallen into a deep sleep once again, his expression as always, dazed and tormented.

At the bedside, Liu Ruyan sat quietly, holding a silk handkerchief and gently wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't erase the weariness and hardship etched on his face.

Boom!

The quiet night was shattered by a thunderous roar, startling the entire imperial city of Nan Zhao. The imperial guards mobilized en masse, weapons at the ready.

In the sky above, two massive Peng birds soared in, enormous and swift as lightning, hovering over the Nan Zhao imperial palace.

Looking up, two figures stood on them: a young man in white robes and one in purple robes. Their cultivation was not particularly high, only at Ren Yuan Jing level, which was why they relied on spirit beasts for transport.

Xianren!

Upon seeing the fierce glint in their eyes and the Xianren standing above, the imperial guards' expressions changed drastically.

"Esteemed immortals, why this grand display? What is the purpose?" Liu Ruyan stepped out of the pavilion, gazing up at the sky.

"We are the state masters of Tu Nu Guo." The young man in white robes snapped coldly. "You killed our Tu Nu Guo general and think you can avoid an explanation? Hand over your state master at once, or we'll raze Nan Zhao to the ground tonight."

"How dare you, as Xianren, play the victim first?" Liu Ruyan retorted coldly. "Your Tu Nu Guo forces sneaked into Nan Zhao to kidnap me and threaten my father the emperor. Was that not deserving of death?"

"What nerve." The young man in purple robes snorted, the sound making the mortals' ears bleed. "Very well, tonight Nan Zhao will run red with blood."

With that, the two attacked: one spewing a stream of flames, the other unleashing a bolt of thunder. To cultivators, it was mere child's play, but to mortals, those flames and thunder were a catastrophe.

Zing!

Soon, from a pavilion in the palace, a melodious qin tune rang out, startling the young man in purple robes and the one in white.

"Still in the mood to play the qin?" The young man in white robes sneered mockingly.

"Which sect are you from?" A voice called from below.

"Du Long Men. We'll let you die knowing that." The young man in purple robes bared his teeth viciously, immediately ordering the Peng to dive.

But at that moment, a massive golden hand appeared out of nowhere, sweeping through the void.

When they looked up again, the Peng birds remained, but the young men in white and purple robes had vanished without a trace.

Where... where did they go?

The imperial guards stood frozen in shock.

They hadn't seen clearly, but the Peng birds had: the two men had been utterly crushed into nothingness by that golden hand.

The Peng, being spirit beasts with intelligence, trembled and descended from the sky, landing and prostrating before the pavilion. Though a spirit beast, it could discern strength, and the one inside was overwhelmingly powerful.

"This spirit beast is a gift for you. You can take it for a flight whenever you're bored." From the pavilion, Ye Chen stretched lazily.

"Thank you." Liu Ruyan giggled, like an innocent girl unaware of the world, and dashed out joyfully, showing not a trace of her princess demeanor.

Her departure was uneventful, but with no one to play the qin, Ye Chen, who had been thinking of reciting a poem, suddenly collapsed to the ground. He'd been awake less than a minute before slipping back into sleep.

Outside, Liu Ruyan stroked the Peng's fluffy head. "From now on, you'll stay with me. Be good, okay?"

The Peng, which had earlier eyed everything with menace, now acted like a docile lamb. It wasn't afraid of Liu Ruyan, but of Ye Chen. As a thinking creature, it knew Ye Chen could kill it a thousand times over with a single finger.

Ye Chen's decisive strike had wiped out the two Tu Nu Guo state masters, leaving the dense ranks of imperial guards momentarily stunned.

Once they regained their senses, they all knelt before Ye Chen, their expressions reverent as if worshiping a deity. With such a powerful figure protecting them, Nan Zhao was safe—who would dare to bully it?

This minor incident passed, and the night fell quiet once more.

Damn it!

In the dead of night, a furious roar echoed from a mountain peak in Bei Chu.

The peak wasn't large, but it was imposing, topped by a massive palace known in Bei Chu as Du Long Men.

At that moment, in the grand hall of Du Long Men, the sect master was fuming with rage. It was all because the disciples he'd sent to the mortal realm had been killed—two of them, no less.

Normally, disciples sent to the mortal realm as state masters weren't highly regarded in the sect, but these two were different: they were his illegitimate sons, secretly placed there for future recall.

Now, he woke up to find both sons gone.

"Kill them!" The Du Long Men sect master roared like a mad dog. "Kill the Nan Zhao state master for me."

"As you command." The elders in the hall understood the reason for his fury and didn't dare delay. Three black-robed figures immediately took off toward Nan Zhao in the mortal realm.

Du Long Men was near the border between the cultivator realm and the mortal world, so Nan Zhao wasn't far.

Those three black-robed figures were nothing if not dedicated, racing faster than rabbits and arriving at the Nan Zhao imperial city before dawn.

Boom!

Before long, another explosion resounded over the Nan Zhao palace.

And that was it—the three black-robed figures had barely arrived, not even getting a word out, before they reported to the underworld.

All... all dead?

When the Du Long Men sect master heard the news, his face twisted in shock, his heart aching terribly. Those were three Ling Xu Jing experts! Gone just like that.

"Sect master, from what I see, Nan Zhao must have an elder with at least Kong Ming Jing level cultivation." An elder in purple robes pondered aloud. "We mustn't provoke such a force carelessly, or it could bring greater disaster."

"What about my two sons' lives?" The sect master exploded in anger. "So what if it's Kong Ming Jing? Our backer is the Xue Ling Shijia. Can he stand against an entire family?"

"The sect master is right, absolutely right."

"You go this time." The sect master barked. "Don't attack head-on. Investigate that person's background thoroughly."

"Understood." The purple-robed elder vanished from the hall in an instant.

Under the starry night, he moved at incredible speed, his cultivation at the peak of Ling Xu Jing, reaching Nan Zhao in less than an hour.

This one was clever. Before entering the imperial city, he used a concealment talisman to hide his aura, then disguised himself as an old man selling straw sandals and slipped in. He stopped at a tea stall run by an old man.

"Old brother, I hear there's a mysterious Xianren in your imperial city?" The purple-robed elder asked while sipping tea.

"You must be from out of town." The tea seller smiled warmly. "As for the Xianren you mentioned, it's true. He's incredibly mysterious—last night, he wiped out two Tu Nu Guo state masters."

"That powerful?" The purple-robed elder feigned surprise.

"But it seems he's afflicted with some strange illness." The old man sat cross-legged, pulling out a pipe and puffing away.

"Strange illness?" The purple-robed elder paused. "What kind?"

"It's what the palace staff are saying. This Xianren's mind is unclear, like a walking corpse—he doesn't remember anyone. Strangely, as soon as he hears the princess play the qin, he snaps right out of it."

"Such a thing exists?" The purple-robed elder's eyes flashed. He tossed down a copper coin and left.

He was cautious indeed, waiting until nightfall and deep into the night before sneaking into the palace.

When he emerged, he was carrying someone—a guard.

Soul search!

In a deserted spot, he performed a soul search on the guard.

In just a few seconds, his body shuddered, and he froze in place, as if struck by lightning. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, sweat pouring down his forehead, his expression shifting to sheer terror.

Ye... Ye Chen!

His lips trembled, his voice shaking.

Though just an elder of Du Long Men, he had seen Ye Chen before. Few in the cultivator world didn't know him—his face was etched into everyone's bones, his legends a nightmare for an entire generation.

He... he's still alive!

The purple-robed elder's body trembled uncontrollably. He scrambled away from the imperial city, fleeing at full speed, making it back to Du Long Men in mere moments.

Earth-shattering secret! Earth-shattering secret!

Before even entering the hall, he was wailing like a ghost. He burst in, tripped, and fell flat on the ground.

"So flustered—what a disgrace." The sect master snorted coldly.

"Earth-shattering secret, sect master!" The purple-robed elder frantically pulled a jade stone from his robes and handed it over, huddling on the floor, his whole body shaking.

"This..." Soon, the sect master's figure staggered. Seeing Ye Chen's face in the jade stone was like beholding a demon, plunging him into hell.

"He... he's actually still alive. He actually is." The sect master's face drained of all color, his voice quivering like his body.

Quickly, the Du Long Men ancestor was alerted. Even he, upon learning the news, turned pale with fear. That was Ye Chen, the lord of the heavenly court—a god of slaughter.

"Don't panic, don't panic." The Du Long Men ancestor managed to stay composed, suppressing his fear and shock. "The jade stone memory says he's mentally unclear, like a walking corpse. He must be severely injured, without his peak strength. We just need to control that Liu Ruyan—then what can a amnesiac like him do?"

"Ancestor, even a weakened camel is stronger than a horse. We should report this to the Xue Ling Shijia." The sect master suggested.

"Yes, yes, we have the Xue Ling Shijia as our backer." The ancestor nodded hastily. "Quick, send word to the Xue Ling Shijia. No, I'll go myself. I'll go myself."

The night was pitch black, the wind biting.

Using teleportation arrays, the Du Long Men ancestor arrived at the imposing Xue Ling Shijia.

What?

Soon, incredulous voices echoed in the Xue Ling Shijia grand hall, even stirring their ancestor.

"This matter is grave. Dare to deceive me, and you'll die horribly." The Xue Ling ancestor fixed a sharp gaze on the Du Long Men ancestor. "That's the Wuwang Great Marsh. Anyone who enters meets certain death. How could he possibly survive?"

"This is absolutely true, senior." The Du Long Men ancestor replied respectfully and hesitantly. "As you know, the Great Chu forbidden lands aren't always fatal. A few years ago, Ye Chen escaped from the desert, didn't he?"

"Ancestor, whether true or false, we must investigate." The Xue Ling family head pondered. "It's best to inform the Bloodthirsty Hall and the major families."

"Why inform them?" The Xue Ling ancestor snorted. "The ancient holy body is full of treasures. Do you want them to come and share the spoils?"

"But with just the Xue Ling Shijia, we can't handle Ye Chen."

"Didn't Du Long say he's mentally unclear, like a walking corpse?" The Xue Ling ancestor smirked. "His weakness is that Liu Ruyan. Control her, and Ye Chen will be like a lamb to the slaughter."