"Holy Envoy, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."
Venerable Jiatian's expression shifted. He hurriedly said:
"The merit on this woman is of unknown origin, and she has some ties to our Buddhist sect..."
"Don't try to use the Buddhist sect to pressure me. I'm not discussing this with you."
Houtian said no more. He simply raised a hand and, with a flick of his finger, shattered the Buddhist light around Jiatian, bringing Shi Lan to his side.
"She cultivates martial arts. She's young and hot-blooded; it's only natural she might make a mistake in a moment of impulsiveness. It's not the Buddhist sect's place to overstep its bounds and discipline her."
At these words, Venerable Jiatian's expression changed at once. This was unmistakably a defense of Shi Lan; clearly, no matter what she had done, Houtian intended to take her away.
With things having come to this, Venerable Jiatian instinctively glanced at the two Buddhist venerables nearby. At some point, they had already retreated far away, their eyes lowered as they plainly meant to stay out of it.
"The merit on this woman is connected to a True Buddha. I hope the Holy Envoy will reconsider." Venerable Jiatian was still unwilling to give up, and tried one last time.
"Do you think I wouldn't dare kill you?" Houtian's gaze turned cold, killing intent appearing on his stern face.
At that, Venerable Jiatian said no more. The lotus throne beneath him shifted, and he withdrew tens of millions of li, clearing the way.
If he kept provoking Houtian, blood might truly be spilled. Martial cultivators could not be judged by ordinary standards; hotheads who didn't care about gains and losses were hardly rare. Jiatian didn't know Houtian well—they had only met a few times—and he wasn't willing to gamble his life.
"What's