Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Chen Pingping Has Arrived
This is a good question.
Jinyao Pool looked at him. "Has the Phoenix Cauldron of the Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty truly lost its God?"
Lan Wuji laughed. "This is an internal affair of our Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty." He wasn’t foolish; how could he discuss such a matter with a member of the Purple Gold Divine Clan?
Rumors were rumors, with truth and falsehood indistinguishable. At least there would still be those who held fear.
Jinyao Pool said, "The second step is to lay a death trap." Saying this, she looked towards a white-robed elder. "This is an Array Master of our clan."
Lan Wuji was somewhat surprised. He had thought an Elder had come, but it turned out to be merely an Array Master. He chuckled and said, "Chen Pingping... This Prince has already lured him out. The rest is your Purple Gold Divine Clan’s affair. As for this Prince’s throne... Hehe, I wonder when the two of you plan to fulfill your promise?"
"The moment Chen Pingping is beheaded," she spoke.
"Are you playing me?" Lan Wuji’s smile froze.
"I wouldn’t dare."
"And what if you are unable to behead Chen Pingping?"
"An eighth-rank Array Master is equivalent to a Lord. Chen Pingping cannot withstand the arrays he sets up; his death is certain," Jinyao Pool said softly. "Besides that, our clan has a total of twenty Imperial realm powerhouses arriving at the battlefield, along with one complete Sacred Soldier."
This was the lineup on paper. As for how many would arrive covertly, that depended on the intentions of the Divine Clan’s upper echelons.
She was only conveying the official details to put Lan Wuji at ease.
Hahaha!
Lan Wuji said with a laugh, "Your Divine Clan is truly cunning indeed."
Jinyao Pool said, "It’s mutual."
For the imperial throne, he had killed three of his siblings in succession, exploited Lan Xiuzhi to threaten the Emperor, intimidated the imperial court, and lured out Chen Pingping.
What’s more, he had colluded with the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
This was a major incident within the Imperial Dynasty. If his armies learned of this, they would surely desert him. At that point, he would lose his bid for the imperial throne.
But Lan Wuji didn’t care—as long as he could get his hands on the throne, the process was of no importance.
The conversation concluded, and Lan Wuji turned to leave.
At this moment, the white-robed elder finally spoke, "He’s brave but lacks foresight. He’ll ruin important matters sooner or later."
"It doesn’t matter, as long as he can draw out Chen Pingping," Jinyao Pool said. "As for his imperial throne, hehe... The Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty has lost its Heaven Tao Divine Weapon, and with it, its greatest foundation. This also presents a good opportunity for our Purple Gold Divine Clan."
"The Emperor Spirit will also appear, won’t it?" the white-robed elder suddenly asked.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Purple Gold Divine Clan faced a terrible calamity. A woman broke in and slew many Spiritual Beasts, greatly diminishing the clan’s internal strength. They remained in a state of dormancy for a very long time afterward. The two remaining Spiritual Beasts became the Purple Gold Divine Clan’s final lifeline. Eventually, they recovered.
Later, a young prodigy said to possess the Returning Ancestor Bloodline was born. As a child, he gained the recognition of the Emperor Spirit and had lived with it ever since; they had been companions for many years.
Subsequently, a clan elder prophesied the appearance of the ’Demon Flower,’ which would birth a Tao Seed. This led to the Purple Gold Divine Clan re-emerging into the world.
Although the path to invading the Heaven Martial Continent was fraught with hardship, the Purple Gold Divine Clan never gave up. If they could obtain a Tao Seed, then with the Emperor Spirit’s aid, this young prodigy would have a chance at Tao Verification. He would step into the Emperor Realm and survey the world from above. He would lead the Purple Gold Divine Clan back to its zenith and perhaps even return to the Nine Heavens to vie for supremacy among the powerful.
Jinyao Pool took a deep breath, composing herself. Her golden eyes gazed upon the land stretching out beneath her as she said, "The glory of the Purple Gold Divine Clan will begin with the beheading of Chen Pingping. No one can stop it."
「...」
"Eh, it seems that the three great dynasties have really given up, huh!" Chen Pingping was resigned, then suddenly started screaming, "My thirty-two arrays! AAAHHH! Damn Earth Chicken, give me back my Spirit Stones!"
The Earth Chicken strutted in the courtyard, her head held high, looking very proud.
Upon hearing Chen Pingping’s screams, she glanced over indifferently, then looked away, no longer bothering with him.
「The next day!」
Chen Pingping decided it was time to hit the road.
It was one thing for the three great imperial dynasties not to show up, but even the Purple Gold Divine Clan was absent.
There was a problem.
Instinctively, he smelled the scent of a conspiracy. Coupled with the incident involving Lan Wuji, something felt off.
"I’m off, Auntie!" Chen Pingping bid farewell to his neighbor.
"Chen, where are you off to? When will you be back? I was hoping to introduce you to my daughter!" the plump auntie poked her head out from a window, smiling kindly.
Chen Pingping nearly stumbled. Looking at the auntie’s figure, an image of another woman involuntarily surfaced in his mind: similarly stout, with a pockmarked face, and a walk like a rolling water barrel.
He shuddered and quickly pushed the thought away.
Immediately, he replied, "Oh, just back to my hometown for a bit."
"Then make sure you come back soon," the auntie said with a laugh.
"Got it!" Chen Pingping hurriedly made his escape, taking the Earth Chicken and Hei with him. He left the thirty-two Arrays behind to protect Lin Yuexin.
The trigger for the Arrays was simple: they would automatically activate against anyone showing hostility towards Lin Yuexin.
The stronger the hostility, the greater the killing intent, and the more powerful the Array that would activate.
If there were too many powerful enemies, all thirty-two Arrays would activate simultaneously.
Honestly, Chen Pingping had to admit some respect for this scoundrel of a chicken. Despite her lack of morals, her strength was considerable, and the Arrays she laid out were truly impressive.
"When will you finally learn to talk?" Chen Pingping asked earnestly, lifting one of the Earth Chicken’s feet.
CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK!
The Earth Chicken grew visibly furious and struggled desperately to break free. However, Chen Pingping’s grip was like a seal, holding her fast. She could not escape.
Chen Pingping sighed lightly and tossed her aside casually. He started muttering, "Lao Huang still can’t talk after all these years. Hei just barks all day. And that rascal Mao Qiu? Forget him. According to Elder Dugu, he hasn’t spoken a word in his entire life. It’s all up to you now!"
Truly, it was quite the burden.
He had raised four Spiritual Beasts, and not one could speak.
Chen Pingping continued to ramble, "A 27% bloodline concentration, and she still can’t talk? Hmm? That’s odd. Wasn’t it said that killing the curser would break the curse?"
He remembered.
He had wiped out the entire Fire Tribe, so the one who cast the curse should naturally be dead too, right?
Logically, the Earth Chicken should be able to speak by now.
He stopped in his tracks and lifted one of the Earth Chicken’s feet again.
The Earth Chicken looked like she was about to explode.
"There’s a problem," Chen Pingping said gravely. "The Power of Curse hasn’t been lifted. This means the one who cast it is still alive. My mistake!"
He casually tossed the Earth Chicken aside. Chen Pingping’s figure receded into the distance, eventually vanishing into the ancient town.
「Soon thereafter!」
He entered the territory of Heavenly Phoenix Imperial City. Instead of acting rashly, he lay low and observed quietly. Seeing no activity, he then dispatched a Shadow.
Just then, some soldiers atop the city wall spotted Chen Pingping’s figure and immediately cried out, "He’s here! Chen Pingping is here!"
The cry of alarm instantly put all the soldiers on high alert.
The atmosphere on the city walls consequently became tense.
Having received the news, Lan Wuji strode out, his face cold. His deep eyes fixed on Chen Pingping as he said, "You have some nerve! Stealing the God from my Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty’s Heaven Tao Divine Weapon, and you still dare to return here?"