Li Hao pondered the more he felt it to be possible. Given Feng’s temper, even if he decided to leave, he wouldn’t do so without saying goodbye, unless something happened suddenly.
“Prince, do you know who those engaged in the battle at the Grand Tao of Peace Realm are?”
Li Hao immediately asked.
“It must be Demon Luo,” Jiang Lichen said. “Although I didn’t look closely, the boundless Demonic Qi that was emitted at that time couldn’t be mistaken, so your friend is most likely already gone.”
“Demon Luo?”
Li Hao was taken aback.
“You don’t know?” Jiang Lichen gave him a glance, then realized that the young man before him, after all, was only in his teens. Aside from cultivation and sword training, how much time could he have had to learn about these top-notch powerful beings?
“Eight hundred years ago, Demon Luo emerged, wreaking havoc everywhere. The Buddhist sect sent experts to suppress him, but they were instead slaughtered. He broke free from the encirclement of numerous Buddhist experts and since then went into hiding for over two hundred years. When he reappeared, he was already at the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, causing chaos everywhere again…”
Jiang Lichen said, “Five hundred years ago, the Buddha Lord personally took action, yet Demon Luo managed to detect and escape his pursuit. The battle shook the heavens and the earth, and although it didn’t kill Demon Luo, it allowed the people of the world to witness the terrifying power of the Buddha Lord. I don’t know if your Divine General’s Mansion has any record of it, but the Dao Domain displayed by the Buddha Lord in that battle was five-layer!”
Jiang Lichen glanced at Li Hao, “Slightly weaker than your current strength, but five hundred years have passed. The Buddha Lord was once an exceptional prodigy, and after such a long time, he could only have become more terrifying. Even in the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, he would be a top-tier existence.”
“Three hundred years ago, a Bodhisattva was publicly killed by Demon Luo. The Buddha Lord decreed that all disciples of the Buddhist sect were to hunt Demon Luo for all eternity.”
“Since then, Demon Luo has rarely made an appearance, and throughout the world, news of Demon Luo occasionally surfaces, with the truth and falsehood difficult to discern. Some are merely Demons or those who have fallen into demonic ways, scaring people by borrowing the name of Demon Luo.”
“If you want to find Demon Luo with your own efforts, it’s impossible. The Yu Divine Dynasty has been issuing warrants for his arrest for so many years without having seen any trace of him. To such a powerful being, to be blunt, a warrant means nothing.”
“If you want to find Demon Luo, you could go to Mount Wuliang to inquire. They have experience in fighting him, and it is said that they have been secretly investigating him in the past years, but I estimate it won’t be of much significance.”
After Jiang Lichen finished speaking in one breath, Li Hao’s face turned ugly. Demon Luo?
Feng had no dealings with Demon Luo, so why would the latter strike at Feng?
Could it be that it was just a chance encounter, hence the murderous intent?
At this moment, outside the courtyard, another soldier ran in, bowed to Li Hao, and immediately reported,
“Haotian General, we have news of the person you’re issuing a manhunt for!”
“What?”
Li Hao, still dwelling on Jiang Lichen’s recent words, was startled by what the soldier said and at once turned to look at him sharply,
“Where?!”
“At Mount Wuliang.”
The soldier jumped in fright and quickly said, “Just now, Mount Wuliang announced that they have caught Feng Boping, the great thief who has been stealing for many years. They will execute him at noon tomorrow at the peak of Spirit Mountain in Mount Wuliang!”
Li Hao’s pupils contracted, his head buzzed slightly, and soon, he felt as though his blood was ablaze.
Execute Feng?
Wait, Demon Luo, Mount Wuliang?
Li Hao couldn’t help but look at Jiang Lichen and asked, “Prince, are you sure you didn’t see wrong earlier?”
Jiang Lichen was also full of surprise. By this moment, he knew that Feng Boping was the man Li Hao was looking for.
“Strange, could it be that Demon Luo delivered that man to Mount Wuliang? But they are mortal enemies…”
Jiang Lichen muttered to himself, suddenly seeming to think of something, his expression subtly changing, “So that’s how it is, no wonder he said that…”
“What?”
Li Hao couldn’t help but ask, while an incredible idea arose in his mind.
But thinking of Candle Flame God and Ms. Yin, it didn’t seem so unbelievable.
Jiang Lichen faced Li Hao. Without speaking, their gazes met as if they both understood what the other was thinking.
Li Hao’s expression became grim. Suddenly, he recalled something Feng once talked about leisurely while fishing by the lake years ago.
He had taken an artifact from Mount Wuliang while the Buddha Lord was in retreat, using that object to suppress the Mo River.
It was a Saint Relic, said to contain the aura of a Saint, which suppressed the perilous Mo River and prevented it from extending.
This act also led the Buddhist sect to notice afterward, who then furiously issued a manhunt for Feng Boping.
But Feng Boping’s movements were mysterious, and for many years, he had never been caught by the Buddhist sect.
“`
But now, he had been caught.
Li Hao felt a sense of sorrow in his heart. Feng, the wanderer who had no fixed abode and thus could not be captured, had been caught.
From Qingzhou to Liangzhou and then several interventions at Heavenly Gate Pass had exposed Feng’s whereabouts. It was only after the Buddhists were informed and came searching here that they were able to find Feng and capture him.
Initially aimless like a floating weed, his having ties had ironically exposed his vulnerabilities.
In his youth, that couple from Northern Yan was his weakness, and after they were assassinated by demons, he hardened into the strongest stone.
But now, he himself had become Feng’s weakness, the reason why Feng was tangled up here.
Li Hao covered his chest slightly, feeling a faint tearing sensation. Feng must have known that he was exposed and in danger, yet he still covertly looked after Cangya City, fulfilling the promise between them.
How could such loyalty be betrayed?
“Let’s go to Mount Wuliang!” Li Hao said through clenched teeth to the Candle Flame God.
Experience tales at empire
Jiang Lichen was taken aback and looked at Li Hao, saying,
“Do you intend to snatch someone back? If I’m not mistaken, you’re a Duke now. At your age, accumulating merit a couple more times could promote you to the premier duke rank, or even elevate you to Divine Marquis, ensuring millenniums of venerated incense fire. You even have the potential to ascend to the Saint Realm in the future. Are you sure you want to risk it all for a thief?”
“Right and wrong, fame and honor, none can outweigh the joy of sharing drinks among friends.”
Li Hao’s eyes were icy as he looked at the true form of the Candle Flame God and mounted it: “To have a few true friends in life is enough.”
Seeing Ren Qianqian, who approached with an anxious expression on her face, Li Hao’s icy look softened as he whispered, “Wait for me here, and cultivate diligently.”
Jiang Lichen, upon hearing Li Hao’s words, was stunned. He had thought this young man pursued fame and fortune, seeking to leave a name for centuries like others he’d seen, but suddenly realized it might not be the case.
All those imperial brothers of the emperor, including those of the younger generation, were embroiled in open and secret strife; what they sought was not also a “name”?
“To have a few true friends in life is enough,” Jiang Lichen murmured, then burst out laughing, “Kid, I approve of you. I’ll accompany you on this journey. That Buddha Lord is not an easy adversary. If necessary, I will unsheathe my sword beside you!”
“Prince, you are from the Imperial Family, so you shouldn’t get involved. This is my personal affair.”
As Li Hao spoke, he signaled for the Candle Flame God to take off.
Immediately, the Candle Flame God’s hooves thundered, and it swiftly soared into the sky.
Jiang Lichen laughed heartily, however, “Where I go is my business. What is this talk of imperial or noble blood? I am simply me, the god amongst swords, Jiang Lichen!”
As he spoke, he too soared into the skies, following closely behind Li Hao with mysterious steps.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them surged past Heaven’s Gate, one after the other.
Li Hao glanced back at Jiang Lichen, who was closely following him, not expecting that the prince would truly come. This prince seemed different from the others, a bit mad even.
“The Buddhists are a power worshipped by the Imperial Family. Won’t your actions have an impact?” Li Hao frowned.
Jiang Lichen’s speed surged wildly, catching up with the Candle Flame God without falling much behind. He laughed aloud, “What impact? Will that Buddha Lord seek out my deeply calculating elder brother afterward? Let him be troubled, causing disruption is precisely what I enjoy most!”
Li Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly. The person referred to by Jiang Lichen was clearly Emperor Yu.
It seemed there was disharmony between these two brothers.
Yet Emperor Yu had asked him to assist…
“Earlier you said, thanks to me you were able to escape. Did His Majesty ask you to aid me in exchange for your release? Were you previously in prison?” Li Hao glanced at the shackles and chains on his hands.
Jiang Lichen laughed heartily, “Indeed, he even promised me that once you were safely escorted and unharmed, I could demand him to bear my sword strike. Once this affair is settled, I will return to the Imperial Capital to deliver back that sword strike!”
Li Hao was taken aback, imagining the amiable face of the old man playing chess under the willow tree, suddenly feeling a twinge of sourness in his heart. The investment Emperor Yu had made in him seemed rather large.
He took a deep breath, putting away these thoughts and urged the Candle Flame God to increase speed.
Meanwhile, the news of the public execution of the Thief Saint, Feng Boping, was spreading among the major powers.
Many who had been ‘visited’ by Feng Boping were clapping their hands in joy at the news of the great thief’s capture.
Those powers close to Mount Wuliang immediately set out upon receiving the news, rushing to the mountain in hopes of extorting the locations of the treasures he had stolen from Feng Boping before his execution.
And the news also reached the Qingzhou Divine General’s Mansion.
Li Muxiu was stupefied when he heard the news, and immediately his face drained of all color.
“`