However, just as Yin Nian was planning to use a magic treasure to save his life, a jade pendant engraved with lotus flowers hanging from his waist suddenly flashed.
Yin Nian immediately exclaimed excitedly, “Master, save me!”
The instant Yan Tianhen’s long arrow shot forward, a firm sword Qi descended from above, gently nipping the flower in the bud and deflecting the Yin flame arrow. The Yin flame arrow brushed past Yin Nian three inches away from his ear. With a loud Bang, it burnt the entirety of a thick tree vine in front of him to ashes.
Yin Nian, “…” Mama ah, Master must be scaring him like this on purpose!
Bifang excitedly let out a cry and carried Yin Nian as it dived to the ground, rolling and crawling until it was hiding behind the man standing on the ground.
Bifang chirped a few times, then turned into a bird the size of a crane and stood on its single leg. It even rubbed its head into the man’s hand, looking very wronged, while it flicked its other injured wing, as if being coquettish.
“Injured?” The young man’s voice was full of magnetism, with the final tone being somewhat higher, which was very pleasant to the ears.
“Chirp chirp–” Hearing this, Bifang became even more energetic.
Yin Nian yelled, “Master, I knew you wouldn’t leave your disciple on his own. That damned Beast Emperor dared to shamelessly set me up. This disciple was almost ambushed and killed. Fortunately, I escaped quickly, or else Master wouldn’t have been able to see me again!”
When the young man heard this, he said impassively, “Continue practicing your basic swordsmanship when you return. You will do three additional sets every day from now on.”
Yin Nian looked as if he was struck by lightning. “Heavens ah, kill me instead.”
While they were speaking, Yan Tianhen and the others had already landed.
Just now, Yan Tianhen felt a majestic and boundless aura that could completely crush him. His mind was shocked, and he landed at this time. When he saw the man who had batted away his attack with a casual move, he immediately felt a sense of danger.
The man in front of him wore a mask that covered the upper half of his face, so Yan Tianhen couldn’t see his true appearance. However, even if only the lower half of his face was revealed, it was enough to faintly see the person’s outstanding appearance from the perfect curve of his lower jaw.
However, appearances were easily suppressed by one’s imposing aura. This was especially true for the person in front of them.
Cold and dangerous.
Yan Tianhen saw his long silver hair hanging behind him and somehow suddenly thought of the snow silkworms that only spat out silk once every hundred years and died soon after.
I’m afraid that not even the highest-quality silk produced by the oldest snow silkworm will be able to compare to this man’s white hair.
Bei Shitian gripped the sword hilt in his hand as he stared at the man with narrowed eyes. “Someone from Reincarnation Palace?”
The man’s line of sight remained on Yan Tianhen for a while longer, then he spoke faintly. He only said one word, “Farewell.”
After saying that, he was ready to leave with Yin Nian and Bifang.
However, Yan Tianhen suddenly came to his senses and stepped forward. “Stop for this prince!”
Yin Nian turned his head and sneered, “My master spared your lives, yet you still want to court death?” While saying that, he even gave Yan Tianhen the middle finger.
Yan Tianhen responded with a cold expression, “I am the heir of King Ye and am thus at odds with Reincarnation Palace. Since I met you today, how can I let you leave so easily?”
He couldn’t see how high the black-robed man’s cultivation was, but for some inexplicable reason, he wanted to test it.
Yin Nian showed a rare expression of interest. He twisted his face and looked at Yan Tianhen. “If I was alone, you would’ve been able to stop me. Now that my master is here, all of you guys together can’t even compare to a single finger of his. Did you rush here from thousands of miles away just to deliver us your heads?”
Yan Tianhen’s eyes sank, and he stared at the back of the white-haired man’s head, as if trying to bore holes into his skull. “You don’t even dare to show your face, timidly cowering and hiding away. Could it be that you have no face with which to face the world?”
Yin Nian’s expression immediately turned dark. He rolled up his sleeves and looked like he was about to beat someone up. But before he could speak, he was stopped by the man’s gaze.
“I have a repulsive face that makes people unable to bear looking at me. Indeed, it’s difficult to face people.” The man said lightly, “The miasma here is spreading, and the humidity is too heavy. It is better for Little Prince Yan to leave early.”
Yan Tianhen asked, “Do you know me?”
The man answered, “Few people are ignorant of Little Prince Yan’s reputation within the Nine Lands.”
“Since you know who I am, isn’t it unfair that I don’t know who you are?”
The man seemed to smile at that. “If you want to know my identity, then why beat around the bush?”
Yan Tianhen felt a little ashamed that his intention had been exposed, but he didn’t care about these details, so he said bravely, “That’s precisely right. This prince just wants to know who you are and what your relationship with this Reincarnation Palace is.”
The man’s words were clear, shattered jade. It sounded like the tinkling of spring water as he responded, “I am the head of Reincarnation Palace.”
“Demonic Spectre Venerable?!” Wan Yitong suddenly raised his voice and rushed to stand in front of Yan Tianhen, blocking him from sight. His hair stood up on end and he stared at the man intensely. He didn’t dare to blink his eyes. He was afraid that the man whose mere rumors could stop crying children at night would become temperamental and attack Yan Tianhen. Bei Shitian also secretly started to build up a big technique and began to prepare for the worst.
Yan Tianhen was stunned. It was rumored that the master of Reincarnation Palace was ferocious-looking and eight feet tall. It was said that he looked like a fierce spectre. If he saw a person, he’d kill the person, and if he saw a Buddha, he’d kill the Buddha. His natural disposition was malicious and ruthless, and even ghosts would be scared into crying when they saw his appearance. Thus, the outside world called him “Demonic Spectre Venerable”.
Although they couldn’t make out the appearance of the person in front of them, beauty was in the bones, not in the skin. Just from the curvature lines exposed right now, it could be concluded that this person was definitely a beauty. Moreover, there was no stench of blood on him at all, and they couldn’t even sense any killing intent. However, there was a feeling that he was akin to an elegant spring breeze free from vulgarities, and whose nature and form wouldn’t change no matter how the moon moved, which made it hard for people to feel wary.
“You are the Palace Master of Reincarnation Palace?” Yan Tianhen felt somewhat incredulous, so he asked it again.
Yin Nian curled his lips. “The title ‘Demonic Spectre Venerable’ sounds too unpleasant. Go back and tell those people that the Palace Master of Reincarnation Palace is ten thousand times more beautiful than them. If my master is a ghost, then you people are the remnants left behind after the death of a ghost.”
“I don’t care who he is! I also don’t care whether he’s beautiful or ugly!” Qi Feiqing came forward with bloodshot eyes and pointed his sword at Demonic Spectre Venerable, shouting in a low voice, “You guys committed evil deeds, wantonly buying and selling human lives — you killed my father. I want all of you to pay for it!”
Yin Nian looked at Qi Feiqing. “And who is your father? We’ve killed too many people, so I don’t know which one you’re talking about.”
Qi Feiqing’s shoulders shook. He was clearly trying to suppress his impulse. He answered through gnashed teeth, “My father is Qi Wanshan, the criminal law commander of the Royal Heavenly Capital. He was harmed by you all three years ago. Even now, my father’s head still hasn’t been found!”
“Oh, so it’s you.” Yin Nian heard this without any surprise. He sized up Qi Feiqing. “That father of yours ah. Let me think, who did we give his head to back then…Who was it?”
Yin Nian smiled nastily. “Sorry, I can’t remember.”
“You…” Qi Feiqing’s hands trembled with anger, as if he was very anxious to kill Yin Nian. This person actually used such an attitude to treat his father, as if he were treating a toy that could be abandoned anytime. However, these people were clearly murderers.
Yin Nian’s attitude also annoyed Yan Tianhen.
Yan Tianhen said with a dark expression, “Although I can’t kill you today, remember that I will make you pay this debt of blood in the future!”
“You should find me for the debt of blood.” Demonic Spectre Venerable suddenly opened his mouth, “This Venerable was the one who personally severed Marquis Qi’s head.”
“Why?” Qi Feiqing’s eye sockets looked as though they were about to crack open. He wanted to impulsively rush up, but Wan Yitong firmly grasped his shoulder.
He howled, “Why did you guys kill him? Why?!”
Demonic Spectre Venerable’s behavior was in sharp contrast with his. He spoke indifferently, “People who should die always have a reason to die.”
“Master,” Yin Nian said.
“Let’s go.” Lin Xuanzhi took Yin Nian’s hand, made a hand seal, and disappeared.
“Instant teleportation.” Yan Tianhen clenched his fist.
He dashed forward a few steps to see if there were any barriers or traces of arrays around him, but he couldn’t find anything.
Yan Tianhen’s heart was heavy, as if he couldn’t breathe because he was pressed down by the weight of a huge rock. He didn’t know whether this was because the man just now had too imposing a manner so that his nasal cavity was still haunted by that man’s smell, which resulted in his revulsion and breathing difficulties, or whether it was because of other reasons.
“That was actually the Demonic Spectre Venerable himself.” Wan Yitong gasped. “How high do you think his cultivation is?”
Bei Shitian was silent all the way, but he was willing to say a few words when cultivation was mentioned, “Too high to reach.”
Wan Yitong, “…”
Yan Tianhen went to Qi Feiqing’s side and patted him on the shoulder in a placating manner. “One day, we’ll get an explanation from him and settle this blood debt.”
The rims of Qi Feiqing’s eyes were red. He clenched his fist desperately. “We are no match for them at all. They are so arrogant that they even dared to kill my father, decapitating him as soon as they said they would…This won’t do, I must tell my Dage this news.”
Yan Tianhen nodded. “I’ll stay with you, and I’ll also spread the news to Royal Heavenly Capital. My dad’s friends are all over the world, so perhaps he can find help there and deal with that Demonic Spectre Venerable.”
Qi Feiqing nodded solemnly. “Let’s go now.”
Demonic Spectre Venerable took Yin Nian and suddenly appeared outside an inn on the west side of White Tiger City. There were red lanterns hanging at the entrance of the inn and candles burning quietly. The inn looked very small from the outside, only four stories high. It was very unobtrusive amongst the tall and magnificent buildings in White Tiger City, which were made from boulders.
When the two people walked in, someone greeted them respectfully, “Greetings to Palace Master and Young Palace Master.”
Demonic Spectre Venerable didn’t respond and instead directly led Yin Nian upstairs.
Yin Nian said, “Why don’t you get up.”
The two rows of people kneeling on the ground didn’t stand up until the two figures had disappeared from view completely. One of them asked in a whisper, “Don’t you think that the Palace Master seems to be in a bad mood today?”