Shaoyan Chou Appears

Zhou Yu stood there, having completely absorbed the life essence left behind after the death of Celestial Immortal Xuanji.

He unleashed his power, and the flood dragons that had previously been pulling Celestial Immortal Xuanji's immortal carriage were all annihilated.

"Shaoyan Clan, how many Celestial Immortals do you dare send to Anchan Commandery?" Zhou Yu felt very calm in his heart.

On the other side, the Shaoyan Clan was indeed in an uproar.

When Shaoyan Nong died, the Shaoyan Clan had barely reacted; after all, he was merely a candidate for the Duke of Feather God, and even if the actual contemporary Duke of Feather God had died, it would not have meant much to the Shaoyan Clan.

But Celestial Immortal Xuanji was different.

A Celestial Immortal!

They were the absolute foundation of a tribe!

Any clan member could be replaced generation after generation, but Celestial Immortals lived forever, always capable of shielding the clan.

It had taken endless ages of accumulation for the Shaoyan Clan to give birth to just a few Celestial Immortals.

Now that Celestial Immortal Xuanji was dead, the very foundation of the Shaoyan Clan had been shaken.

At this moment, the patriarch of the Shaoyan Clan and several Loose Immortals all felt as if the sky had collapsed.

No one could bear the consequences of this matter, so they immediately did everything in their power to begin contacting the other Celestial Immortals of the Shaoyan Clan.

Soon, Celestial Immortal Kumu, Celestial Immortal Jinzhong, Celestial Immortal Chixin, Celestial Immortal Jingyu, Celestial Immortal Huoba, and others all returned to the tribe.

"You say that Xuanji left no message at all before he died?" Celestial Immortal Kumu and the others stared coldly at the contemporary Duke of Feather God of the Shaoyan Clan, Shaoyan Fushan.

"Respected ancestors, it is true. Ancestor Xuanji's life tablet shattered suddenly, without any warning," Shaoyan Fushan said hurriedly.

"Where did Xuanji go last?" Celestial Immortal Chixin asked at this time.

"He went to Anchan Commandery."

"Why did he suddenly run off to Anchan Commandery?"

"Some time ago, the clan arranged a trial for the next Duke of Feather God, Shaoyan Nong. This Shaoyan Nong was the junior Ancestor Xuanji favored most."

As Shaoyan Fushan explained, the Celestial Immortals exchanged glances, and they vaguely understood.

Celestial Immortal Xuanji had clearly been schemed against; the other party knew his relationship with Shaoyan Nong, intentionally killed Shaoyan Nong to lure him out, and then seized the opportunity to ambush him.

As for the Yuchi Clan remnant "Ji Ning" mentioned by Shaoyan Fushan during this process, the Celestial Immortals did not take it to heart.

"You may leave first."

Celestial Immortal Chixin waved his hand, dismissing Shaoyan Fushan.

"Being ambushed is nothing new; it has happened several times in the history of our Shaoyan Clan, but we have always provided rapid support and turned danger into safety," Celestial Immortal Jinzhong said.

"But for him to fall without even having time to send back a message, the attacker must be at least at the peak level of a Celestial Immortal, striking suddenly while Xuanji was unprepared, or perhaps a Empyrean God or True Immortal took action."

"Would a Empyrean God or True Immortal specifically set up this trap just to kill Xuanji?" Celestial Immortal Kumu shook his head. "Even that person from the Zhuanshui Clan wouldn't go that far, would he?"

Celestial Gods and True Immortals cared about their reputations; to set up a trap just to kill a Celestial Immortal without much background would be a laughingstock if word got out.

Even Empyrean God Zhuanshui, who held extreme hatred for the Shaoyan Clan, had never done such a thing.

"Do not be careless," Celestial Immortal Chixin said. "We must report this to the ancestor. Xuanji's death cannot be kept hidden."

Hearing this, the Celestial Immortals nodded.

Yes, although it felt unlikely that a Empyrean God or True Immortal had acted, what if they had? One could not be careless about such matters.

Thus, Celestial Immortal Chixin quickly began to contact the Shaoyan Clan's progenitor, Shaoyan Chou.

Several days later.

In Anchan Commandery, a single-horned figure in golden robes appeared at the spot where Celestial Immortal Xuanji had fallen. He was the progenitor of the Shaoyan Clan, Shaoyan Chou, and the true pillar of the Shaoyan Clan.

The Shaoyan Clan dared to be enemies with the Zhuanshui Clan; if they had relied only on their few Celestial Immortals, they would have been wiped out by Empyrean God Zhuanshui long ago. But with Shaoyan Chou in existence, Empyrean God Zhuanshui dared not act rashly.

At this moment, Shaoyan Chou attempted to trace back time to view the past, but undoubtedly, he failed.

"Who exactly is targeting my Shaoyan Clan?" Shaoyan Chou felt puzzled. He quickly ruled out the existences who held grudges against him, finding no one who fit the criteria.

"Could it be that the Shaoyan Clan provoked such a powerful enemy while I was unaware?" Shaoyan Chou felt a headache coming on.

An enemy like this, hidden in the shadows, was truly terrifying.

While Shaoyan Chou was deep in thought, Zhou Yu also appeared nearby without a sound.

He had been studying the True Explanation of Time and Space, and his use of time and space was highly sophisticated. Although he had only just mastered the power of time and space, he could still hide in the deeper layers of the space-time continuum.

This was a highly advanced method of concealment.

Just like last time, even though Zhou Yu had appeared right in front of Celestial Immortal Xuanji, the latter could not sense Zhou Yu's aura at all, nor could he even tell that Zhou Yu was merely a Loose Immortal.

After all, the two were not in the same space-time, and Celestial Immortal Xuanji's realm was not high enough to perceive the deeper layers of space-time; how could he detect Zhou Yu's aura?

This time, it was the same for Shaoyan Chou. Zhou Yu did not want to be detected, and Shaoyan Chou did not even notice Zhou Yu's arrival.

"Shaoyan Chou, his soul is split into eighteen parts. Even if his soul was stronger than an ordinary Celestial Immortal at his peak, the soul of his single avatar at this moment is at least far weaker than that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal."

Zhou Yu pondered in his heart, silently casting the "Mind Power Soul Control" secret technique.

Before he even realized it, Shaoyan Chou felt a blur before his eyes.

"Not good!"

His vast experience allowed Shaoyan Chou to instantly sense that something was wrong; it was an extremely rare soul-based secret technique.

Given Shaoyan Chou's background, he naturally could not recognize this as a Mind Power technique, assuming instead that some powerful entity was targeting him with a soul-based art.

His soul was indeed Shaoyan Chou's greatest weakness, a fact he was well aware of and had been striving to compensate for.

He possessed a certain level of confidence in this regard; otherwise, he would never have dared to make enemies of Celestial Gods and True Immortals.

"Break for me!" Shaoyan Chou let out a low roar.

Zhou Yu, who was in the middle of casting the technique, hesitated for a moment before voluntarily abandoning his attempt to further invade the other's soul.

This Shaoyan Chou has a very strong Dao heart. Zhou Yu realized this.

After all, Shaoyan Chou was an existence who had relied on his own strength to transcend his tribulation and become an immortal back in the ancient era; he had likely lived for trillions of years. Under such circumstances, even a pig's Dao heart would be incredibly formidable, and he was certainly not someone Celestial Immortal Fengxu could compare to.

Moreover, Zhou Yu's Mind Power was too scarce and too weak. He had already sensed that enslaving Shaoyan Chou would be extremely difficult; continuing to force the issue would not only have a low success rate but would also alert Shaoyan Chou.

At this moment, Shaoyan Chou likely did not yet realize the true nature of this technique. If he continued to press, it was hard to say what would happen; Shaoyan Chou would very likely go into hiding and never show his face again.

Therefore, Zhou Yu quickly abandoned this attempt.

If my soul were on par with his, or if my Mind Power reached the fourth level, success would not be difficult. Zhou Yu mused.

In truth, even a successful enslavement would be useless right now. The only real treasure Shaoyan Chou possessed was the "World Prison," but to enter the World Prison, one needed at least the magic power of a True Immortal, and Zhou Yu was far from that level.

"Who is it? Come out!"

Shaoyan Chou scanned his surroundings, sneering, "A dignified Empyrean God or True Immortal, someone who can be called a great power in the Three Realms, only knows how to skulk and hide?"

"Shaoyan Chou, you cannot find me yourself, yet you call me a skulker?"

Zhou Yu's calm voice drifted over, and Shaoyan Chou suddenly discovered a figure appearing before him.

Zhou Yu had altered his appearance, and his aura was imperceptible to Shaoyan Chou, so the latter naturally could not recognize him.

"Was it you who killed my clansman, Xuanji?" Shaoyan Chou inquired.

"Correct." Zhou Yu nodded slightly.

"Why commit such a ruthless act?"

"Because he provoked me." Zhou Yu said indifferently, "Your Shaoyan Clan has been lording over the Great Xia World for too long. I am simply teaching you what the rules are."

Hearing this, Shaoyan Chou was silent for a moment before he replied:

"This matter was the fault of my Shaoyan Clan. Since Xuanji provoked you, his death is only what he deserved."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu smiled.

This Shaoyan Chou was truly capable of bending and stretching.

However, it was a wise choice. The most infuriating thing about Shaoyan Chou was that he possessed numerous avatars, making him extremely difficult to kill.

That was why he dared to stand against Empyrean God Zhuanshui; because Empyrean God Zhuanshui could not kill him.

Even if Empyrean God Zhuanshui were to invade the Shaoyan Clan, Shaoyan Chou would not care, for he would eventually retaliate. This made Empyrean God Zhuanshui hesitant to act rashly, as he still cared deeply for his tribe.

But this tactic of Shaoyan Chou's was useless against an entity of unknown identity and origin.

"Farewell."

Shaoyan Chou did not wish to say more. Regardless of whether this mysterious entity was speaking the truth or not, he understood that further words were futile.

However, just as Shaoyan Chou turned to leave, his expression changed, for in an instant, Zhou Yu had appeared right in front of him.

"You think you can come and go as you please in Anchan Commandery?" Zhou Yu looked at Shaoyan Chou calmly.

Shaoyan Chou instinctively threw out his hand, and three ferocious insect-beasts instantly appeared, but Zhou Yu's figure passed straight through them.

Under Shaoyan Chou's disbelieving gaze, Zhou Yu's palm landed upon him.

Chi!

With a burst of power, this avatar of Shaoyan Chou was instantly reduced to dust.

Oh? Killing an avatar also yields origin energy? Zhou Yu thought to himself, lost in contemplation.

At this moment, the three insect-beasts, having lost their master's control, immediately attempted to flee, but Zhou Yu unleashed a palm strike in an instant.

Boom!

The palm strike invoked the power of space-time, and the three insect-beasts, whose strength rivaled top-tier Celestial Immortals, were instantly obliterated into nothingness.

Although Zhou Yu was a loose immortal of the Qi Refinement path, he was currently relying on origin power, so his close-combat techniques were also incredibly potent.

Of course, Zhou Yu himself was a "glass cannon." Such methods were fine for dealing with those weaker than himself, but if he faced someone of equal strength, he would certainly run as far as he could.

"The origin energy provided by these insect-beasts is not bad at all." Zhou Yu soon smiled with satisfaction.