Suspicions
Suspicions
"Blood Ocean's Withered Bone Palm!" Ning Wuqing's gaze flashed to the side as he stated in a deep voice.
He had clearly said this to warn Jun Moxie to defend himself.
Jun Moxie snorted. He had readied himself to face this attack. The Art of Unlocking the Heaven's Fortune was a remarkable technique. And, it was capable of routing any evil technique. In fact, it would be more effective against a more powerful evil technique. Therefore, Young Master Jun wasn't bothered even though this Young Lord's strength was a few levels higher than his own. In fact, Jun Moxie was quite confident. After all, the natural attributes of the two attacks were bound to entangle in an attempt to control each other once they'd collide. Consequently, the power of Huyan Xiao's attack would deflect in the reverse direction. Therefore, it would be a trivial matter in case Huyan Xiao was defeated on the spot. Moreover, it could be reckoned that this guy's heart would be injected with the poison of his own technique in case he was careless and didn't use his full strength to resist this rebound. In fact, it was possible that he might even die there-and-then.
Suddenly, a 'bang' sound came. Then, Huyan Xiao's body was shot upwards with a 'whoosh'. He broke through the ceiling, and flew upwards. However, his blood spilled down from the air like rain drops.
The four masters from the Illusory Ocean of Blood were extremely shocked at first. Then, they rushed after their Young Lord since they were afraid that he might have sustained serious injuries.
Mei Xueyan stood motionless and at ease in front of Jun Moxie. She faintly said, "Huyan Xiao, even arrogant people should know their limits. You should've come with your father—Huyan Aobo—if you wanted to act this atrociously! You are too weak to behave like this!" her voice wasn't very loud, but it still travelled far into the distance.
It turned out that Mei Xueyan had suddenly charged-in to grab Huyan Xiao when he had pounced. She had then thrown him away. However, her movements had been so quick that no one present on the scene had seen her actions clearly.
Ning Wuqing and Ma Jiangming had been far better-off than the others. But, even they had only seen a white shadow flash in front of them. Then, Huyan Xiao had flown out. But surprisingly, they hadn't seen how Mei Xueyan had moved and when her hands had come out to grab him!
The two of them looked at each other in shock. This kind of speed had evidently surpassed their knowledge! This was truly astonishing and terrifying!
However, they were unaware of the facts. Mei Xueyan's speed had been very fast even a few days ago. In fact, it had been far more than theirs. But, it hadn't reached such a shocking level. However, she had then taken the Vitality Linkage Pill, and her speed has increased by three times as a result. Therefore, it was only natural that the speed of her sudden movements had shocked these two super-experts.
A sullen sound came from a distance. This was followed by the sounds of clothes and bodies being slammed and shattered. However, these sounds gradually faded away. It was obvious that the people from the Illusory Ocean of Blood had decided to leave. In fact, anyone in their position wouldn't have had the face to return…
It could be reckoned that the water from the entire mainland would be insufficient to wash away this shame from their faces!
"Young Lady, may I dare to ask your surname?" Ning Wuqing profoundly looked at Mei Xueyan at first. He then asked her with a serious expression on his face.
"My surname is Mei," Mei Xueyan faintly answered.
Jun Moxie had intended to say something in order to dodge the question, but Mei Xueyan had already answered it by then.
Ma Jiangming and Ning Wuqing's eyes exposed a strange light at the same time. It was evident that the surname 'Mei' had left the imaginations of these two men to run wild. Ma Jiangming laughed in his usual grim manner, and said, "Mei… this surname… It is rare to come across a person with this surname. In fact, there have only been three top-experts who have carried this surname in the last thousand years or so. But, I haven't heard of you, Young Lady. Are you a descendant of one of them?"
"One of them was Mei Guying. He had shaken the entire world with his might about thirteen-hundred years ago. He had later joined the Elusive Land of Immortals. He then fought in a Battle for Seizing the Heavens a thousand years ago. He had sacrificed himself while fighting the Leader of those 'outsiders', but he had managed to take that enemy down with him. Consequently, his name became a legend. And, the songs of his bravery have been sung ever since. The other was the previous Sacred Lord of Heavenly Punishment Forest—Mei Changtian. And, the third has been shaking the Three Holy Lands ever since he has appeared—Heavenly Punishment Forest's Venerable Mei…"
Ning Wuqing's eyes were closely watching Mei Xueyan's face. His sword-like gaze was radiating brilliant rays of light all over the place. He then said, "Miss Mei, you have excellent skill. You must be highly knowledgeable as well. Have you heard about these three individuals?"
"I've never heard of them," Mei Xueyan's expressions remained stagnated and unchanged. She then faintly looked at Ning Wuqing and said, "I don't understand what you mean by this? Is it necessary to investigate someone's personal history?"
Ning Wuqing unsheathed his sword-like gaze. His gaze then came in contact with Mei Xueyan's calm eyes. However, he suddenly felt as if his heart had become sluggish. In fact, it seemed as if his sword-like gaze had broken and rebounded to stab him in reverse. He couldn't help but retreat a step back as a result. The pupil of his eyes contracted as he said, "I was just joking. But, I must say the Miss is highly tolerant. Please don't blame me."
Mei Xueyan sighed and walked out with Jun Moxie.
Ning Wuqing blinked his eyes. Suddenly, he stepped up and spoke-up in a deep voice, "Young Master Jun, the two of you make a strong and remarkable couple. You can rampage the entire world. So, this Old Man will not blabber nonsense. But, there's one thing I feel that this virtuous couple needs to pay attention to."
Jun Moxie stopped walking, and said, "Please enlighten us, Senior."
"I believe that you both can go anywhere in this world since you possess such Mystic strength. But, you need to be careful in case you meet a certain individual," The three long stands of Ning Wuqing's beard suddenly started to float even though there was no wind.
"May I ask who that individual is? I genuinely don't know if there's such a power in this world!" Jun Moxie smiled faintly. However, he seemed full of confidence.
"This person is Heavenly Punishment Forest's Venerable Mei!" Ning Wuqing's eyes lit up as he looked at the backs of those two. He then continued, "Venerable Mei is the Lord of the Heavenly Punishment Forest. He doesn't belong to our human race. And, he thinks very differently as well. His heart is very malicious. In fact, he's heartless. It can be said that he hadn't shirked from any crime in the past. He was exceptionally powerful, and nobody could control him! However, Old Xiu had once collaborated with nine masters to stop him. Unfortunately, Venerable Mei had still managed to escape. Moreover, no one was able to find his traces later. We had only derived one pleasant outcome from that battle—Old Xiu had managed to stab Venerable Mei with his sword! But, Old Xiu had paid a heavy price for this. He had gotten himself kicked in the chest, and he suffered a serious injury. It took him thirty years to recover from that injury! No one heard of Venerable Mei for many years after that. In fact, there had been no traces of him. But then, I heard the news that he had shown up in Heavenly Punishment Forest some time ago. However, he still didn't hesitate in stirring up havoc. In fact, he has become more bullish now. I've heard that Young Master Jun had also met him once… You need to be very careful! It must be borne in mind that world peace will be affected very badly in case these divine pills fall into the hands of a frantic like Venerable Mei. In fact, the disaster wrought might not be less than that of the outsiders!"
Jun Moxie shivered from head-to-toe. It seemed as if his heart had been gripped by a lingering fear. He then said, "Such a power exists in the world… I will be more careful. I won't let bad people succeed. Thanks a lot for the enlightenment, Senior Ning."
The two of them stopped talking. Then, Jun Moxie slowly walked out.
Ning Wuqing and Ma Jiangming fixed their eyes on the backs of these two individuals, and didn't speak-up again.
The two of them turned a corner, and their figures had disappeared from the line of sight. Then, Ma Jiangming's lips moved in a manner that his voice only transmitted to Ning Wuqing's ears, "Hey, Old Demon Qing, what do you think of this?"
Ning Wuqing shook his head since he was at a complete loss. However, his lean face filled with suspicion as he replied, "It's not certain; I'm not sure."
Ma Jiangming uttered an 'oh'. Then, he said in a somewhat profound manner, "What a pity! Yun Biechen would have perhaps been more certain if he had been here with us."
Ning Wuqing slowly shook his head. He then strolled a few steps and said, "There have been many suspicious matters ever since that battle in the Heavenly Punishment Forest. The Mystic Beasts of Heavenly Punishment Forest seem to have a vague standpoint. They didn't attack any of the Jun Family's subordinates. And, this can be considered a very suspicious thing. Moreover, there's a mysterious expert in the Jun Family… And, this Miss Mei's Mystic strength is clearly above ours… But, I've never heard of her… Moreover, there was some news some time ago… The Bear King and Tiger King had come to deliver the herbs to Heavenly Scent City… Old Ma, what do you think of this?"
"That man in black robes had appeared in Heavenly Punishment when Venerable Mei was present at the scene. So, they're obviously not the same person," Ma Jiangming's gloomy face was exposing an expression of uncertainty. It was evident that he was somewhat suspicious.
"But, who apart from the Beast King of the Heavenly Punishment Forest can order so many Mystic Beasts? Your City's Lord and our Empress possess amazing strength. But, when it comes to commanding the Mystic Beasts… Can they do that?" Ning Wuqing had stretched his voice while saying this. He then muttered to himself, "There's some connection even if they aren't the same person!"
"What do you think?" Ma Jiangming looked at Ning Wuqing with some vigilance in his expression.
"The Three Holy Lands have been the leaders of the mainland for thousands of years. Brother Ma, what do you think about the current strength of our Three Holy Lands?" Ning Wuqing smiled.
Ma Jiangming snorted and replied, "Others don't dare to admit this, but the current strength of my Great Golden City is far more than it used to be in the ancestral times!"
"Then, what are our odds of winning the Battle for Seizing the Heavens according to you?" Ning Wuqing squinted, and his eyes emitted sharp and cold rays of light.
"It will be a great victory this time! This is already determined! The Three Holy Lands will certainly win if each of them has progressed at the same rate. Moreover, the victory will be an easy one!" Ma Jiangming said darkly. However, his eyes flashed with extreme arrogance as he added, "I don't intend to look down on those grotesque outsiders. But, their appearance is peculiar… Brother Ning, they might be very strong. But, how powerful can they be?"
"That's right! We've been accumulating our strength for five-hundred years. So, how could it be trivial?" Ning Wuqing's expressions were also gloomy as he said, "Do we still need to ask the Heavenly Punishment Forest to fight in that case?"
Ma Jiangming seemed to be taken aback by this, "Brother Ning? You mean to say…"
"The Heavenly Punishment's Beasts can transform into human form. But, can they change their true nature? We already have the great men needed to resist the invasion of those outsiders. So, do we still need to rely on a group of Beasts?"
Ning Wuqing snorted. Then, he suddenly added in a bitter and hateful tone, "Every battle in the last ten thousand years has seen the Heavenly Punishment Forest's participation! But, nobody has ever thought that drawing support from these beasts is a huge disgrace on mankind!? Can't we win this battle if we don't rely on these beasts?"
"However, the Lord of our City still holds Heavenly Punishment's Mystic Beasts in high regard," Ma Jiang Jing muttered to himself for a while before he was able to speak-up in a serious tone.
"But, our Empress has already decided on a large-scale program to get rid of the Heavenly Punishment Forest!" Ning Wuqing gave a shady look as he said with a cold voice, "Won't the Mystic Beasts still have to participate in the battle if we can make them our pets… Moreover, isn't this situation bound to increase our strength and provide assistance?"
Ma Jiangming was completely shocked by this. Therefore, he asked, "Brother Ning? Is this what your noble Empress intends?"
"That's right!" Ning Wuqing nodded. Then, he asked in a deep voice, "Old Ma, you have met Yun Biechen… He's the first-ranked amongst the Eight Great Masters of the human world. He's the strongest here. But, how strong do you reckon him to be…?"
"His strength… I believe….I believe that his strength isn't lesser than ours by any means!" Ma Jiangming wasn't sure at first. Therefore, he had used 'I believe'. But, he immediately felt that his assessment was inaccurate. Therefore, he corrected it in a positive tone, "However, he's very aloof. He's fond of travelling around. And, he's least interested in worldly disputes. But, his strength has reached a level where it will be considered extraordinary in the Holy Lands as well. And, he could even beat the two of us if we are to bring his Beast pet into the equation!"
Ning Wuqing smiled in a cold and cheerless manner, "But, what if we also have a Beast pet?"