The west bank.
A figure stood atop a withered tree, his toes resting lightly on a branch, yet his body remained completely motionless.
This man had a pale face, long eyebrows, graying temples, a smooth chin, and a feminine aura lingering between his brows.
From afar, his gaze locked onto the Black Flood Dragon Carriage.
He watched as its spiritual light dimmed, shrinking into a palm-sized object before falling into Dong Fu's hand.
Only then did his toes lightly push off, drifting downward to land beside a luxurious carriage.
The carriage was exceptionally grand and extravagant!
A nine-leaf green flag fluttered in the wind atop the carriage, its body intricately carved and inlaid with ivory. The four majestic dragon-steeds pulling the carriage were pitch-black like ink, without a single stray hair.
Everything about it clearly proclaimed the noble status of its owner.
Before he could speak, a lazy voice drifted out from inside the carriage:
“Eunuch Wei, how is it?”
Wei Wusheng, the Punishment Executioner Eunuch of the Xuanjing Division, bowed, his tone respectful and steady:
“Replying to Your Highness, it is just as the Zhendong General anticipated. The Four Sects of Nanxiang have joined forces and arrived. There are seven Gangjin Rank experts in total, with hundreds of Huajin and Anjin Rank cultivators.”
Inside the carriage, Jiang Su half-squinted his eyes, lazily reclining against the chest of a young girl dressed in palace attire.
The girl's slender fingers peeled the thin green skin of a spiritual grape. Holding it between her ruby lips, she carefully fed it into his mouth.
After chewing and swallowing, Jiang Su remarked bluntly, “Just a bunch of local rabble.”
At the front of the carriage sat a middle-aged man with a forced smile, his heart in his throat.
This person was none other than the head of the Liu family, Jiang Su's maternal clan, Liu Jianglou!
By seniority, he was Jiang Su's uncle;
yet before this volatile Ninth Prince, he was as humble as a household slave.
“Your Highness...”
Liu Jianglou rubbed his hands together, squeezing out a smile, his voice trembling slightly.
“There... there are seven Gangjin Rank experts, after all. With just us, I'm afraid... I'm afraid...”
Jiang Su narrowed his eyes.
He glanced sideways at him, his face expressionless.
“Are you afraid?”
“Uh, that's not it.”
Hearing this tone, Liu Jianglou's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly cried out in alarm.
He hurriedly raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, forcing a smile as he fawned, “Your Highness is of imperial descent. Naturally, no one here would dare harm you.”
“But those brutes don't know who I am!”
“If I am beaten to death by them, I won't be able to serve Your Highness anymore. I... I wouldn't even be able to rest in peace!”
Hearing this, Jiang Su was stunned for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed heartily.
“You old dog... you really are as timid as a mouse! But I do like hearing those words! Hahaha!”
Seeing his expression soften, Liu Jianglou finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart settling back into his chest.
Jiang Su was volatile, cruel, and bloodthirsty, changing his face faster than flipping a page. Accompanying him was truly like keeping company with a tiger!
Coming here this time, Liu Jianglou would likely have to fight those Gangjin Rank experts outside.
He had only fortunately broken through to the Gangjin Rank a few years ago, and even then, it was thanks to Noble Consort Liu. To this day, he only had a single divine ability seed in his body.
Among the Gangjin Rank experts outside, who wasn't a veteran who had been in this realm for years?
There were even several in the Inner Gang Rank!
Since his life was on the line, he did not dare to be careless.
After hesitating repeatedly, Liu Jianglou braced himself and cautiously inquired, “Your Highness...”
“I wonder if any Divine Ability Rank experts have accompanied us on this trip? If there is a Daoist Master protecting Your Highness, I can rest easy and serve you with all my heart...”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Su, who had been smiling just a moment ago, suddenly turned cold.
Liu Jianglou's pupils shrank. Realizing something was wrong, his remaining words caught in his throat!
Boom!
Jiang Su kicked out, striking Liu Jianglou squarely in the chest!
Pfft!
Unprepared, Liu Jianglou was kicked right out of the carriage. He spat out a mouthful of blood mid-air, crashed onto the muddy ground, and rolled twice before stopping.
Startled, the four dragon-steeds neighed in unison, nervously pawing the ground with their hooves.
Ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, Liu Jianglou scrambled to his knees and repeatedly slammed his forehead against the gravel. Blood mixed with dirt smeared all over his face.
“Spare my life, Your Highness! Spare my life! I misspoke... I misspoke...”
“Divine Ability Rank?”
From inside the carriage, Jiang Su's gnashing voice cut off his pleas.
“Do you think I didn't want to invite a Divine Ability Rank expert?!”
Jiang Su's eyes were bloodshot. He grabbed the terrified girl beside him and violently shoved her head down.
Immediately after, an uncontrollable rage erupted from the carriage:
“The Qi clan refused to help me!”
“The Yan clan avoids me like the plague!”
“Those two Daoist Masters of the Five Elements Sect were clearly attending the treasure auction in the capital earlier! Yet when I personally visited them later, both of them suddenly entered secluded cultivation! How could there be such a coincidence??”
“And the Great General of the Tianfu Army... actually sent a mere servant to brush me off!”
The more Jiang Su spoke, the angrier he became, almost roaring:
“I am the Ninth Prince of the Great Qi! I am not some random nobody!”
Jiang Su's eyes looked as if they were about to bleed, his tone dripping with sheer malice:
“Those bastards!”
“When my sixth brother devoured human pills, every single one of them played deaf and dumb, not uttering a single word!”
“Yet when it's my turn, they show me this kind of attitude!”
He kicked over the low table, sending wine cups and fruit platters clattering to the floor. His sinister gaze resembled that of a trapped beast as he hissed:
“They infuriate me!”
Hearing this roar, Liu Jianglou finally understood.
Jiang Su hadn't failed to ask for Divine Ability Rank assistance; he had simply hit a wall everywhere and been shut out.
He was both terrified and anxious, afraid that the other party would vent all his rage on him. He racked his brain, trembling.
Suddenly, he had a stroke of genius and pulled a brocade box from the storage bag at his waist.
“Please calm your anger, Your Highness! Please calm your anger!”
Crawling and kneeling, he approached the carriage, a fawning smile plastered on his face as he raised the brocade box above his head with both hands:
“They are blind and fail to recognize a true dragon. Your Highness, please do not lower yourself to their level.”
“I... I heard that Her Grace, Noble Consort Liu, has given birth to another young prince. I am overjoyed and have specially prepared a small gift. I trouble Your Highness to pass it on to him on my behalf, as a token of my humble respect...”
...
Jiang Su's heavy breathing paused slightly. His eyes darted around, and his anger subsided a bit.
He pushed the girl in palace attire aside. Though she stumbled and fell, she was clever enough to quickly take the brocade box and present it to him.
Jiang Su casually flipped open the lid and glanced inside.
Inside the brocade box lay a translucent white jade lock.
The body of the lock was as warm and smooth as mutton-fat jade, with a faint spiritual light flowing over it. Complex runes were carved onto its surface, showing at a glance that it was no ordinary item.
Jiang Su raised an eyebrow. The dark gloom on his face finally faded slightly, and his expression softened:
“You old dog, you certainly hid a good treasure. Fine, I will accept it on behalf of my infant brother. Get back up here.”
“Yes, yes...”
As if granted a grand amnesty, Liu Jianglou scrambled back onto the carriage, not daring to utter another word.
Jiang Su toyed with the jade box, contemplating silently for a moment before seemingly making up his mind:
“Forget it! I should still give those southern hicks a warning!”
He turned his face toward the figure outside the carriage who had remained respectfully bowed throughout, and commanded in a deep voice:
“Eunuch Wei.”
“Your servant is here!”
“Go!”
“Deliver my command to Wang Zhifan.”
Jiang Su's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was freezing cold:
“Tell him to find a way to pass a message to the Four Sects of Nanxiang!”
“As for the treasures inside the Blessed Land, they may claim them based on their own luck. I will not stop them.”
He paused, a flash of cruelty passing through his eyes as his tone suddenly rose, filled with a chilling intent to kill:
“But as for that Child of Destiny, whoever dares to reach out and touch him...”
“Dies!”
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