Chapter 376: Chapter 9 The Great King Calms His Anger
Qiu Changtian opened his eyes.
He found himself in a tent, where a dozen or so people stood sparsely around him…to be exact, both humans and demons were present.
The demons all had fur, scales, horns, and feathers; though they had transformed, they intentionally exposed attributes of their true forms with flaunting pride.
The humans all had filed faces and tattoos, with rings and studs adorning them, looking even more like demons than the actual demons.
Junior Sister Xu stood beside him, looking at him in shocked amazement.
He saw that Xu Yinglian, who usually wore plain white robes, had now donned a bright red dress. The color was vivid and striking, with the collar half-open and feather tassels adorning it. The layered skirt was draped in many folds, revealing just the tips of her boots beneath.
Her hair too had been drawn up grandly on top of her head, secured with an obsidian hairpin. A dot of cinnabar adorned her forehead between her brows, with two touches of purple adding shadows beneath her eyes, and her lips were painted a passionate fiery red. Her entire temperament had shifted from its usual cold aloofness to something more wild and fiery.
Yet Xu Yinglian seemed unaware of the change, staring blankly at Qiu Changtian.
Qiu Changtian himself no longer wore the Daoist robes or crown befitting the Chief Disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm from Kunlun; instead, his black hair hung down softly, streaked with strands of red. His chest was laid bare, revealing broad, muscular flesh.
Qiu Changtian’s temperament had also undergone a great change. Where he used to conceal his divine light, subtle yet unrestrained, he now unleashed his dominance completely unrestrained, conveying a sense of fierce authority.
Both quickly detected the unusual nature of each other’s attire through their gazes.
“Is this an Illusion Domain created by the secret realm?” Xu Yinglian asked in a low voice.
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“Probably,” Qiu Changtian said as he surveyed their surroundings, continuously calling out to the Kunlun Mirror in his mind, but receiving no response.
Even spatial Formations were incapable of instantly changing a cultivator’s clothes, nor was there any need for such an oddity.
The only explanation was that the secret realm had conjured some kind of Illusion Domain, making them play roles.
In the past, the trials within the Bright Palace secret realm ranged from battles against a multitude of monsters to escaping pursuit from formidable enemies, as well as some puzzles and analytical trials, even those involving reading and answering questions.
But trials involving role-playing in an Illusion Domain were exceedingly rare. According to the analysis of Kunlun’s senior members, such Illusion Domains were generally the most troublesome, because the design objective of the trial was unknown.
Many disciples muddled through the narrative, muddled through the trial, and muddled into receiving their reward… But on further thought, not using one’s mind seemed quite pleasant too, just like playing a murder mystery role-playing game.
“Xu Qiu, Feng Tong!” someone suddenly bellowed in reprimand, “What are you whispering about back there!”
Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian both started, only then realizing they were being addressed by the roles they were meant to enact.
The man who spoke was a muscular bruiser sitting in the chief seat within the tent whose skin below the neck was knotted with muscle, his body covered in tattoos, exuding the terrifying demeanor of a Body Refinement expert that seemed to surge up into the heavens.
A name flashed simultaneously in their minds:
Zhu Rong!
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!” Two people quickly stepped forward in alarm, pulling Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian apart.
An old man pulled Qiu Changtian into a corner and began to scold him:
“Xu Qiu, oh Xu Qiu, it seems your brain has been infested with lustful thoughts beyond cure! Do you really presume that a person from the Phoenix Clan is someone you, a mere vanguard general, can covet?”
“After the meeting concludes, I will prepare a generous gift. You will come with me to represent the Xu Family and offer an apology to the Phoenix Clan!”
Qiu Changtian stood with his mouth half-open, unable to react, and could only dumbly agree.
On Xu Yinglian’s end, she was pulled by a similarly vibrantly dressed noblewoman into a corner, who asked seriously:
“Feng Tong, what do you mean by that? You can’t seriously be considering marrying a human, can you?”
Xu Yinglian fell silent.
With her extensive knowledge of history, she quickly realized that the Illusion Domain corresponded to the era when the ancient Witch Clan ruled.
In that era, both the Human Race and the Demon Race were oppressed by the Witch Clan, so the conflict between them was not acute.
It wasn’t until the later part of the ancient times, when the Witch Clan’s powerful ones had either ascended to sainthood or been killed, that the Humans and Demons, having shaken off their shackles, began to engage in increasingly fierce conflicts.
“Aren’t you going to speak!” The lady’s face grew even uglier as she whispered fiercely, “Even if you do wish to marry within the Human Race, at least find someone decent. The Xu Family is nothing but a fallen house of the Southern Kingdom. What about them has caught your eye? Those big lumps of flesh on their chests?”
She kept prattling on, but Xu Yinglian suddenly came to a chilling realization.
She finally understood that the “destitute and beyond redemption” Xu Family mentioned by the lady was probably the predecessor of The Xu Family of Southern Heaven.
And the Xu Qiu that Qiu Changtian was portraying was none other than the father of the first Xu Family ancestor to receive the Phoenix True Blood!
Xu Yinglian turned her head in horror to see that Zhu Rong, who was seated at the head, suddenly slapped the armrest, and the whole chair burst into flames.
Sitting atop the blazing throne, his eyes shot out fierce light, and with a voice like rolling thunder, he bellowed,
“Enough about those trifling matters! Let’s all talk about how we can defeat Gonggong!”
“Your Majesty, permit me to fight for you!” someone immediately said as they stepped forward with a fist wrapped in the other hand, “Give me the command to muster three thousand troops, and we shall follow the river downstream to meet Gonggong’s forces in the Central Plains!”
Qiu Changtian squinted at the speaker, spotting the red scales all over his body and the rugged horn on his forehead, clearly of the dragon kind.
“Fight your mother’s fart!” Zhu Rong snapped off the armrest and threw it at the red dragon, knocking him to the ground, “And you plan to follow the river downstream? Are you trying to let Gonggong unleash the river’s waters to sweep away all my men?”
The red dragon fled while clutching his head, while the rest twisted their heads away, their faces twitching.
Being of the dragon kind and fond of water, he subconsciously chose to fight at the river’s edge or by lakes and seas. However, Gonggong, known as the Water God, had greater control over the Five Elements’ water, far surpassing the dragon kind, and Zhu Rong’s cultivators all leaned towards the Fire System. Undoubtedly, the red dragon’s idea was a terribly bad one.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger,” another Witch Clan adviser suggested, “Although General Qin’s strategy is flawed, he has highlighted an important factor—Gonggong will certainly choose the vicinity of the great river to take full advantage of his water control ability.”
“Do you think I need you to remind me of that?” Zhu Rong snapped off the other armrest and threw it at the Witch Clan adviser who had spoken up, knocking him to the ground as well, cursing, “And I also know that Gonggong will surely start from the river’s estuary, ascend the river all the way to Kunlun!”
The crowd fell silent. This would make the war difficult to fight.
Kunlun is where the Yellow River originates, so if Gonggong wanted to attack Kunlun, he could follow the river all the way there.
No matter where Zhu Rong’s forces chose to intercept Gonggong, they would inevitably be near the river, which was rich in water and highly disadvantageous for Zhu Rong’s troops, who were adept at manipulating fire.
“Why not take the initiative?” another Human cultivator came forward with a suggestion, “Since Gonggong wants us to engage with him by the river, let’s just do the opposite of what he wishes and avoid the river altogether, attacking directly at his lair.”
Zhu Rong fell silent for a moment, then stood up, picked up the burning chair behind him, and hurled it at the Human cultivator, knocking him to the ground while roaring,
“Gonggong’s lair is in the East Sea; do you fucking want to attack the East Sea directly? If you want to die, don’t drag my people with you!”
Qiu Changtian said nothing, only stared at the map hanging on the wall, gazing intently for a long while before suddenly speaking,
“Why not meet Gonggong in battle at Kunlun?”
At these words, Zhu Rong suddenly stopped, turned to look at Qiu Changtian for a moment, then threw the remains of the chair aside and reached for a table laden with drinks.
“Is Your Majesty afraid?” Qiu Changtian suddenly said, smiling.