On that day, Qi Mu escaped from Tiandang Mountain.
Others might not have noticed anything, but Chen Fan saw it clearly.
When Qi Mu left, he had siphoned away ninety percent of Tiandang Mountain's life force.
Now, Tiandang Mountain was just an empty shell.
Others couldn't see it, but Chen Fan could.
Although Chen Fan hadn't intervened that day, he was now the Mountain Lord of Tiandang Mountain, and he naturally had to seek justice for those who had served him.
One had to admit, Qi Mu was quite shameless.
He could still claim to be the Mountain Lord of Tiandang Mountain.
Chen Fan chuckled, "You abandoned everyone in Tiandang Mountain, and you still have the audacity to call yourself its Mountain Lord?"
"Not so."
Qi Mu disagreed with this statement. "When I left, it wasn't an escape, but to deal with a world-destroying locust king hiding in the shadows.
There were two locust kings besieging Tiandang Mountain that day, and another was hidden in the dark, which you couldn't detect.
If I hadn't fought desperately to stop it, Tiandang Mountain would have been annihilated by now."
Behind him, Xi Qiu's expression shifted. "Is that true?"
Though he didn't quite believe it, Qi Mu's explanation did make sense.
He secretly glanced at the City Lord, only to see a disdainful smile.
His heart sank, and Xi Qiu's face turned grim.
A lie.
Even at this point, Qi Mu was still lying.
"Qi Mu,"
Chen Fan shook his head. "You can fool others with these words, but do you really think I would believe you?"
"Why wouldn't you believe me?"
Qi Mu said again, "I never cared whether others misunderstood me. As the Mountain Lord, I have always acted with a clear conscience."
"Then how do you explain siphoning away ninety percent of Tiandang Mountain's life force?"
"The most important things must be carried with me,"
Qi Mu said. "If Tiandang Mountain were truly to fall and be overrun by the world-destroying locusts, with this life force, I could lead my brothers to start anew elsewhere."
Clap, clap, clap.
Chen Fan praised, "Good, very good."
Qi Mu's words were seamless.
Pity…
Chen Fan shook his head. "The battle, not even a ripple of fluctuation, Qi Mu, who do you think you're fooling?"
"Because we fought in another space."
"Sigh."
Chen Fan didn't know what to say to this person anymore.
He decided to stop wasting his breath and directly stated, "I don't care what you did that day. But now, since I am the new Mountain Lord of Tiandang Mountain, and you no longer belong to Tiandang Mountain, I won't make things difficult for you. Hand over all the life force that rightfully belongs to Tiandang Mountain, and I'll spare your life."
Wasting words was pointless.
He got straight to the point.
Qi Mu's expression turned serious. "Impossible. This life force belongs to all the people of Tiandang Mountain. Even if I die, I will preserve it for my brothers."
"Well said."
This statement instantly froze Chen Fan.
Damn it, what a silver tongue.
He made the City Lord sound like a bandit, a typical villain.
He was tempted to act, but then he thought, no.
"Since you say this life force belongs to all the cultivators of Tiandang Mountain, then let them decide."
Boom.
The River of Rules appeared. "Everyone, come out."
The vast river surged, and figures emerged one after another.
These people immediately saw their former Mountain Lord, Qi Mu, before them.
In an instant, everyone's eyes turned red.
"Qi Mu, you bastard."
"Fleeing from battle, and I followed you for thousands of years…"
"You actually have the nerve to come back? Brothers died and were injured in countless numbers, it's all your fault…"
"…"
Friendship, though sometimes cheap, is always indispensable.
Qi Mu's flight that day had led to Tiandang Mountain's fall.
Out of tens of thousands of people, only a few thousand had escaped.
Now, only just over two thousand remained, integrated into the River of Rules.
These over two thousand people were all that remained of Tiandang Mountain.
A great power had thus collapsed.
"Quiet."
Chen Fan spoke, interrupting the uproar.
Looking at the grim-faced Qi Mu opposite him, he smiled and said, "Everyone, I have something to tell you. Please judge for yourselves."
Qi Mu suddenly had a bad premonition.
He had originally thought only Xi Qiu was here, but he hadn't expected so many people to be present.
In the silence,
Chen Fan began, "When Qi Mu left that day, he siphoned away ninety percent of Tiandang Mountain's life force."
"What?"
The crowd was stunned.
"Damn it, I knew something was wrong with Tiandang Mountain, how could it be compressed so easily…"
"Bastard, so you stole ninety percent of the life force."
"Return the life force…"
"…"
The angry curses were like heavenly music to Chen Fan's ears.
But to Qi Mu, they were incredibly harsh.
He was a Half-Emperor, yet he had never been so scolded and reprimanded.
These people lacked sufficient reverence for a Half-Emperor.
"You court death."
Qi Mu was furious.
The might of a Half-Emperor could not be challenged.
"Boom."
A palm descended, intending to erase everyone.
"Presumptuous."
His eyes flashed with golden light.
"Chih."
Two beams of light, one of life and one of death, pierced through heaven and earth.
The sky-covering palm was directly shattered.
Chen Fan looked coldly at Qi Mu. "I gave you a chance, and you dared to attack, do you really think I wouldn't kill you? I even killed Zang Di with a word, who do you think you are?"
Truly seeking death.
I gave you a chance to reason, and you chose to act like a hooligan.
Do you really think I don't know how to be a hooligan?
The icy killing intent sent a chill through Qi Mu's heart.
He was also a Half-Emperor, but facing Chen Fan, he felt a primal fear.
This feeling was very subtle, but Qi Mu was certain that the other party must possess something that made him feel a sense of danger.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this.
"Hmph."
Chen Fan snorted, "Everyone, Qi Mu said he would preserve the ninety percent of life force he took for you. When Tiandang Mountain is rebuilt in the future, tell me, do you want this ninety percent of life force to be returned to our control, or entrusted to Qi Mu's safekeeping?"
"Damn it, who do you think you are, Qi Mu, to have the right to keep it for us?"
"And you even tried to make a move? In front of the City Lord, you're nothing."
"Hand over the life force immediately…"
"…"
If the initial curses were out of genuine anger,
then these words now carried sufficient confidence.
The City Lord's power gave them courage.
So what if it was Qi Mu?
The City Lord even killed Zang Di, you, Qi Mu, are useless.
With this newfound confidence, these fellows cursed with full conviction.
Qi Mu opposite them turned green with rage.
If not for Chen Fan blocking him, he would have immediately killed them all.
These ungrateful wretches, they thought too highly of themselves.
However, when he met Chen Fan's gaze, he could only suppress his murderous intent.
"Hoo."
Taking a deep breath, Qi Mu said again, "These people of yours do not represent all the people of Tiandang Mountain…"
"Give up. Everyone else is dead, of course, we represent everyone."
Qi Mu didn't know yet that these were the only survivors of Tiandang Mountain.