Chapter 345: Chapter 342: What’s the Rush?

Trading couplets with a pig.

Anyone could tell nothing good would come of it.

"You pig from the Mortal District, you might not know what the Hall of Envoys represents, but I can tell you this: you’ve messed with the wrong people!"

The ropes bit into Xiao Zhize, making his whole body ache. He had never been treated like this before.

"You’d better let us go right now, or I’ll make sure your Mountain and Sea Empire is reduced to dust!"

The Pig Emperor looked at Xiao Zhize with an expression of pity, as if gazing upon an imbecile.

’We’re already at this point, and you still think you’re some young master?’

’Can’t you read the room?’

’This is Within the Pass, protected by the Power of the Dragon Vein.’

’Unless a top-tier expert from the Immortal Realm descends, those clowns from the Hall of Envoys can’t even get in.’

’And you fucking dare to threaten me!’

"I have decided! I’m giving you the deluxe package: twice a day, twelve hours each time!"

Xiao Zhize: "..."

’Is he insane?!’

’Twice a day, twelve hours each time... isn’t that the entire day?!’

Sensing the sympathetic gazes from the Women’s Corps, a profound sense of unease rose in Xiao Zhize’s heart.

"No, no, no, you can’t do this to me!" Xiao Zhize panicked, beginning to struggle and squirm with all his might.

THWACK!

A club came down hard. Xiao Zhize’s body went limp, and he fell board-stiff to the ground, the whites of his eyes showing.

"Drag him away!" The Pig Emperor tossed the club aside and waved his hand impatiently.

"Stop!" At that moment, Liu Chen spoke up.

As the Patriarch of the Liu Family, his Cultivation may have been sealed, but he still possessed the aura of a man in power.

However, before he could continue, the Pig Emperor picked the club back up and glared at him menacingly.

"Say that again."

Liu Chen: "..."

He turned his face away. A wise man knew not to fight a losing battle.

"Hmph! Don’t you put on your stinking airs in front of me. If it weren’t for that girl Ruyan, I’d teach you a lesson you’d never forget today!"

"Take them away!"

Not long after, a series of rising and falling cries of alarm and misery echoed from Within the Pass, each shriek louder and more wretched than the last.

It was truly a sound that would make the listener’s heart ache and their eyes tear up.

"No matter who you are, I, Xiao Zhize, swear that I will grind your bones to dust!"

In a certain corner, Xiao Zhize clutched his bloated stomach, white foam frothing at his mouth. His body twitched uncontrollably, and his hatred for Mo Qi and the Pig Emperor had reached its absolute peak.

...

「In the Imperial City, outside the Daoist Mountains of the Fighting Cultivation Room.」

Mo Qi suddenly turned to look back, scratching his head with a puzzled expression.

He kept feeling like something—or someone—was missing, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

’Am I just being too sensitive?’ Mo Qi wondered.

"Brother Mo, what’s wrong?" Liu Ruyan asked.

Mo Qi shook his head and smiled. "It’s nothing. Let’s go in."

With that, the group walked into the Daoist Corridor outside the Fighting Cultivation Room.

At that very moment, no one, not even Liu Hong, noticed that high above the Imperial City, a little girl in a long purple dress was sitting on a cloud, swinging her bare feet and watching Mo Qi’s every move.

She was the girl Xiaoyan, who had been following Mo Qi earlier. She was also the infamously renowned Queen Mo Yan!

SWISH!

A white figure flashed, and an expressionless young man in white robes suddenly appeared behind Queen Mo Yan.

As if she had known he was there all along, Queen Mo Yan asked without turning her head, "Ah Bai, how is the recovery of our clansmen coming along?"

The white-robed young man pondered for a moment before replying, "Your Majesty, most of our clansmen have recovered seventy percent of their combat strength."

"Seventy percent?" Queen Mo Yan frowned, clearly displeased.

"In the Divine War back then, our race served as the vanguard and suffered devastating casualties. So many years have passed, and our ancestral land is no longer what it once was. Lacking the nourishment of Nether Energy, seventy percent is the most our clansmen can recover," the white-robed young man explained.

Hearing this, Queen Mo Yan nodded and tossed him a Storage Ring.

"Here are some Nether Crystals. They’re enough to allow our clansmen to recover to their Peak, and perhaps even achieve a breakthrough."

"I don’t care what methods you use. Within ten years, I want to see a powerful and invincible legion of Warriors!"

The white-robed young man caught the ring, a hint of shock appearing on his stiff face.

His shock turned to excitement, especially after he saw the number of Nether Crystals inside.

Nether Crystals!

The ultimate Cultivation treasure of their race!

With these Nether Crystals, the Nether Race would usher in a new era!

They could even use this to become the masters of the age once more, standing as equals against the Human Race.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. This subordinate guarantees the completion of this task!"

"Mm, you may go." Queen Mo Yan pulled her feet back and hugged her knees, her gaze never leaving Mo Qi below.

The white-robed young man looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and vanished on the spot with the Nether Crystals.

Queen Mo Yan gently stroked her own jade-like toes.

She recalled the times Mo Qi had washed her feet, and a blush crept onto her cheeks.

But the blush quickly faded, replaced by an expression of determination and strength.

’You silly boy. Your mother was injured because of me. I will take full responsibility for this matter!’

...

"My son!"

In the Daoist Corridor outside the Fighting Cultivation Room, Wu the Old Ghost immediately saw his son, who had lost all Vitality.

His son was the sickly young man from before, who had taken a sword through the heart from Huangfu Jun in order to save Qian Duoduo.

The young man was now covered in frost, his entire body frozen into a block of ice, the wound no longer visible.

Wu the Old Ghost was horrified. With a great cry, he rushed forward and swept his son into his arms.

"My son! My dear son! What happened to you?"

Two streams of turbid tears flowed down his face. Wu the Old Ghost’s eyes and nose immediately turned red.

Was it all for nothing in the end, after centuries of struggle, after weathering so many storms and enduring so much suffering?

"Dad was too late! It’s all my fault!"

Wu the Old Ghost beat his chest and stomped his feet, wailing loudly, without a trace of the aura or composure befitting someone of the Void Realm.

He didn’t know his son’s current state was caused by Huangfu Jun; he assumed the Cold Cicada Bloodline had acted up.

"Your dad is useless, powerless! I couldn’t keep your mother back then, and now I can’t even protect you! I... I’ve failed you."

An old monster who had lived for thousands of years was now crying like a child. It was hard to imagine just how much pain he held in his heart!

Everyone’s heart trembled, and they felt a sting in their noses, moved by Wu the Old Ghost’s raw display of emotion.

Liu Ruyan and Nangong Yan even burst into tears on the spot.

"My son is gone. What use is this Cultivation to me anymore?"

"It would be better to return to dust, my flesh and blood returning to the heavens and earth. My son, Dad is coming to join you!"

Wu the Old Ghost suddenly stood up. His Grotto Heaven manifested and began to collapse inward, a violent Energy compressing and gathering within it.

"Oh no, Wu the Old Ghost is going to use the Scattering Skill to disintegrate himself!" Old Tomb Digger and the others turned pale with fright.

They never expected Wu the Old Ghost to pull a stunt like this.

"Brother Wu, wait! Your son is still alive!" Mo Qi’s head was starting to ache.

’What is this? Is he always this hot-tempered?’

’He’s going to scatter his Cultivation and kill himself at the slightest disagreement?’

’Didn’t I just say I had a surprise for you?’

’I haven’t even had a chance to show you yet, what’s the rush?’

Hearing Mo Qi’s words, Wu the Old Ghost froze.