Canghai Chengkong scowled at the six princes, the look in his eyes uncertain. In addition to Deaf Prince Xiangliu Hongzhen, the other five were all irreverent youths with infamous reputations. There was one thing they all had in common: they were all third children in their clans.
The alliance consisted of the third son of the Lin Clan, the third son of the Beicang Clan, the third prince of the South Sea, the third prince of the Unmeant Sea, the third princess of the Unsullied Sea, and finally, the third prince of the East Sea.
They called themselves the Alliance of the Third Princes, even with the inclusion of a girl, but others considered them a group of profligate heirs.
……
“I ask you, Canghai Chengkong,” demanded the third son of the Lin Clan as he hovered in midair, “who are you representing?”
Canghai Chengkong didn’t dare respond with anything.
The Lin Clan was so influential that they stood independent of Primus Major. Despite the lack of a celestial emperor, overall they were even more powerful than the Primus court. It was even said that House Donglin, the aristocracy dominating Aureate Major, was a branch of the Lin Clan.
“That’s right, Canghai Chengkong,” piped up the third son of the Beicang Clan, his voice louder than even the Deaf Prince’s. “Are you representing the Lin Clan, or my clan?”
Canghai Chengkong cut off his attack in mid swing, his gaze wavering. The North Sea could afford to offend a singular East Sea, but with children of five powerful factions backing the prince up, even the Dark North Sword Sect would have no choice but to surrender Canghai Chengkong if the sect needed a scapegoat.
The six were their clan’s most treasured babies. Even if they blasted a hole in the sky, their clans would clean up the mess for them. The scions of the Unmeant, Unsullied, and South Sea hadn’t said anything, but their challenging looks at Canghai Chengkong spoke volumes.
“Gentlemen!” Canghai Chengkong flailed for an appropriate response. “The Myriad Returns Market is one of the greatest events in the world of immortals. Why do you disturb it?”
“Hahaha!” a clear, pleasant voice sounded. “A member of Ingress Island has robbed my brother of his immortal crystals. Are you the only ones allowed to take from others? How’s that fair?”
It was Jing Dichen, the third princess of the Unsullied Sea, and the only girl in the alliance of princes. Her deep blue dress matched the color of her hair and eyes, and her skin was fair and unmarked. It was quite a contrast for a dainty girl like her to heartily call the others ‘brother’.
“Guards!” Jing Dichen exclaimed. “Fetch me my crystal!”
“Crystal?” Bystanders were befuddled by the order. Was the princess going to pay the market back for their losses?
But when the female immortal behind Jing Dichen offered up a box sparkling with silver light and little more than a foot long, many cultivators screamed and bolted. That was similar to the box the Deaf Prince wielded; it was a box containing an immortal crystal mountain!
Heavens!
Why would the princess have such a thing as well? Was this standard issue equipment in the alliance?
Bam!
White light blasted out of the box and formed a crystal mountain of five thousand kilometers in diameter, smashing into the market below.
“Hahaha!”
“Fetch mine too!”
“And mine!” The other four youths laughed heartily and took their respective silver boxes from the peerless immortals behind them. Five crystal mountains slammed into the market like unstoppable waves.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The impacts shook the floating island like continuous earthquakes, reducing the market and Myriad Returns City into rubble. The island itself wobbled and seemed it would fall into the inner sea at any given moment.
A veritable storm of chaos descended as countless immortals fled in all directions. Fang Feixing stared dumbly at the chaotic scene before him. How had things developed in this direction?
The Deaf Prince burst into laughter. “Good, fantastic!”
With a wave of his hand, he summoned his silver box and opened its lid. Bolstered by the burst of white light, his crystal mountain broke free of its container and took flight, joining its five brethren in annihilating the island.
Everyone finally understood what was going on. The six youths were here to destroy the market!
“Stop… stop it!!” Canghai Chengkong shrieked. The one hundred and eight sword shadows around him whirred into sword aura and slashed at the six youths.
If the market were to be destroyed, everything the North Sea had built over the years would evaporate overnight, and he would be executed for his incompetence. When his thoughts traveled here, he pushed his reservations aside and launched a killing move against the six youths.
“Ha!” Hongxiu and the other five peerless immortals snorted and unleashed their power to block all of the sword slashes.
“What a pity,” the third princess of the Unsullied Sea sighed as she hurtled the crystal mountain. “Why didn’t those from the North Sea set up a formation to stop us? We’d be able to smash more people, then.”
The crystal mountain was powerful, but its deployment took time. The Deaf Prince had been able to defeat Jiangchen Wushang’s dao immortal zombie last time only because the Jiangchen scion had set up a great formation which ended up trapping himself in the end. The dao immortal zombie had had no choice but to face the mountain head-on.
Normally, however, immortals would be able to escape even if they couldn’t take on the crystal mountain. Therefore, the six princes hadn’t killed that many people, despite the unbridled havoc they’d wrought on the island.
“A pure sword immortal… hehehe...” a sinister voice whispered into Canghai Chengkong’s ear, raising his hackles.
“Who is it?!”
Bam!
A white club clobbered him in the back of his head. I’m a peerless immortal, but a club is enough to knock me out!? How absolutely embarrassing! I’m glad… no one I know… is around...
……
Rumble.
Thousands of years after its inception, the floating island at the center of Levitating Island crashed into the inner sea with a great rumble, eliciting tall waves that swept over the island proper and destroyed a good number of cities as well. Immortals and cultivators alike scattered frantically in any corner that seemed safe.
“Hahaha! That was so satisfying!” Beicang Qiong, third son of the Beicang Clan, roared with laughter.
The decennial Myriad Returns Market had been destroyed by the six reckless princes. Fang Feixing stood dumbly in the air, trembling like a leaf and not knowing what to say.
“Still want to take my crystals, Fang Feixing?!” the Deaf Prince yelled at him. “I’m rich, but my crystals are gifted, not robbed! This prince will smash anyone who dares rob me!”
And so the blame was firmly pinned on Fang Feixing, who almost fainted then and there. Immortals observing Levitating Island from afar finally understood what had happened. So… Fang Feixing of Ingress Island had tried to rob the Deaf Prince, and in return the prince had called on his friends to destroy Myriad Returns Market?
However, relief descended in equal measure after comprehension. With the market destroyed, the influence of the North Sea would decrease commensurately, and they would finally be released from the exploitation of Levitating Island.