Mu Feng walked into the stone hall used for the Nine Territories Assembly and found a stone chair by the central stone table to sit down.
He frowned tightly, a hint of unease on his face.
Seeing his appearance, Mu Chen's expression also darkened… Liu Jingshan was probably still alive!
Three years ago, he was already a late-stage Divine Soul Realm expert; if he had gone into secluded cultivation during these three years of disappearance, then he might have already stepped into the Three Heavens Realm.
An expert of the Three Heavens Realm had not appeared in the entire Bei Ling Territory for many years!
A sense of urgency emerged in his heart, and he called out to Amon in his mind: "Miss Amon?"
"Just call me Amon, no need to be so formal…" Amon immediately responded.
"Alright, Amon… can you deal with an expert of the Three Heavens Realm?" Mu Chen asked.
Although Amon had shown many strange abilities and seemed to have a powerful background, Mu Chen had never seen her make a move with his own eyes, so he was still a bit uneasy, worried that some of what she said before was just bragging.
"An expert of the Three Heavens Realm…? You call such an ant an expert?" Amon gave Mu Chen a disdainful look: "I can slap a hundred of these rotten fish and shrimp to death!"
Hearing Amon say this, Mu Chen felt much more relieved.
Figures flickered within the spacious stone hall; many territory lords and leaders of other major forces had already arrived.
Mu Chen noticed that many people had a hint of tension and unease on their faces, clearly, the news about Liu Jingshan had spread.
As people gradually arrived, the hall slowly quieted down.
Subtle footsteps sounded from the back of the hall, the bead curtain was lifted, and several figures walked out.
Liu Qingtian walked into the hall with a beaming smile and said loudly: "Haha, thank you all for giving my Liu Territory face and for responding to my call."
Behind him, Liu Mubai stared intently at Mu Chen, a cold smile hanging on his lips.
Subsequently, Liu Qingtian revealed his idea of having all major forces in the entire Bei Ling Territory form an alliance, with himself as the leader.
Such a proposal naturally met with opposition; although the Liu Territory was strong and subtly had the momentum of the largest force in the Bei Ling Territory, their strength was not overwhelming, and several other stronger territories could contend with them.
Lie Yan, the impulsive territory lord of Lie Territory, directly stood up, stated that he had no interest, and then turned to leave.
But as soon as he reached the doorway, he was struck back by an old, gray-robed figure.
Everyone's gaze converged on the entrance of the hall, watching the old figure slowly walk in.
A face full of wrinkles, sunken eye sockets; although his appearance was somewhat different from the past, some people recognized his identity at a glance.
The previous territory lord of the Liu Territory, the former strongest expert in the Bei Ling Territory, Liu Jingshan!
"It's him! Liu Jingshan, he's really still alive!"
"And to be able to injure Lie Yan with one move, he's probably already entered the Heaven Merging Realm!"
Liu Jingshan expressionlessly scanned the crowd, and everyone he looked at couldn't help but feel a tightening in their hearts.
He lightly coughed twice: "Without this old man's permission today, whoever dares to leave… will die!"
As the last word was uttered, an astonishing spiritual energy pressure surged from his body, sweeping in all directions like a storm.
Tang Shan chuckled dryly: "Old Master Liu, it's been many years, and you still have the same demeanor… May I ask what your intention is today?"
Liu Jingshan smiled faintly: "Since you still remember this old man, you should also know that this old man cannot tolerate sand in his eyes; I don't like the current scattered state of the Bei Ling Territory.
"I'll be direct… I want to establish the Bei Ling Alliance, with this old man serving as the leader. Joining is completely voluntary, but in my eyes, there are only enemies and allies. If you're not an ally, then you'll just have to be an enemy."
Mu Feng exchanged glances with a few territory lords, nodded to each other, and temporarily formed an alliance.
No one was willing to hand over the family business they had painstakingly built, nor did they want a leader to dictate to them.
"Our Mu Territory has no interest in this alliance. If Old Master Liu insists on being an enemy, then we'll just have to fight it out," Mu Feng said with a solemn expression.
Tang Shan came to Mu Feng's side and also said: "My Tang Territory is the same."
"And my Lie Territory," Lie Yan, who had just been injured by Liu Jingshan, said with a hint of anger.
"And us," the other two territory lords also said.
"Heh heh, five territory lords, do you think you can contend with me by joining forces?" Liu Jingshan's eyes grew cold.
The two sides did not waste much more words and directly began to fight.
Mu Chen stared intently at the battle, and when he saw Mu Feng and the others falling into a disadvantage, he immediately said without hesitation:
"Amon, I'll make a deal with you!"
"Hehe, alright, coming right up." Amon's smile was rich, and she counted on her fingers:
"Dealing with Liu Jingshan isn't difficult; he's just a small Heaven Merging Realm expert. But Mu Feng is your blood relative, your most, most, most respected father, so the price needs to be increased!
"Furthermore, this is a critical moment; not only is he in danger, but you yourself are also in danger, so the price needs to be increased again!
"So Mu Chen, how much are you willing to pay for your father's life and your own?"
Mu Chen pondered for a moment and said in his mind:
"I don't know the value of the Wicked Lord True Eye; you name your price. If I were to weigh it myself, even the entire Wicked Lord True Eye wouldn't be worth my father's life."
"No, no, no, not the whole thing."
Amon waved her hands repeatedly: "That would be too much of an overprice. Although I'm a shrewd merchant, I won't overcharge randomly.
"My agreement with you doesn't have much coercive power; it's all based on your character. Even if there's an overprice, it has to be something you're willing to pay in the distant future. Hmm… how about a quarter?"
Mu Chen detected the uncertainty in her tone and tried to bargain: "Too much, a tenth."
"Deal!" Amon agreed immediately without hesitation.
Seeing her agree so readily, Mu Chen knew he had bargained too little, but he didn't care too much.
The essence of his transaction with Amon was actually to vaguely quantify favors using the "Wicked Lord True Eye."
Amon continuously granted small favors on his path of growth, and when he grew to a certain extent, he would repay the favors all at once through the "Wicked Lord True Eye."
The "equivalence" and "reasonableness" within it depended not only on his current judgment but also, more importantly, on his future judgment.
Amon honestly said:
"Actually, the effort to deal with one Liu Jingshan is far from worth a tenth of the Wicked Lord True Eye, so I'll give you a small gift. I'll give you the Nine Nether Bird; from today onwards, she is yours!"
Although the Nine Nether Bird was afraid of Amon, it did not mean that she would allow the other party to treat her like a commodity, and immediately resisted:
"Bastard, I'd rather die than let you humiliate me… just kill me."
Amon leaned over, stroked her trembling head, and said in a seductive tone:
"Look on the bright side. If you were in my hands, regaining your freedom would be almost impossible.
"But your ownership has been transferred to Mu Chen, so isn't your chance of gaining freedom much greater?
"You can buy yourself back from him little by little through various means!"
The Nine Nether Bird's heart stirred, and she asked: "You won't catch me again?"
"Of course, as long as Mu Chen sets you free, I will never interfere," Amon promised.
Nine Nether was half-convinced.
Bang!
Mu Feng was knocked down from the air by Liu Jingshan, landing heavily on the ground, creating a large pit, and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Mu Chen said anxiously: "Amon, since the transaction is complete, please make your move quickly."
Amon said with a giggle: "Didn't I give you the Nine Nether Bird? The solution I provided is for her to help you."
"Ah?" Mu Chen was stunned, then stared directly at Nine Nether Bird.
Nine Nether Bird was silent for a moment, but still decided to lend her power to Mu Chen:
"I am currently controlled by this mandala flower and cannot get out at all, so I can only lend my power to you, and then you go deal with that old ghost yourself.
"But let me tell you in advance, your weak body cannot withstand too much of my power; something might go wrong."
"That's exactly what I want!" Mu Chen said without the slightest hesitation.
If he were to make a move himself, the deterrent power after dealing with Liu Jingshan would be greater than if the Nine Nether Bird made a move.
Then, with the Nine Nether Bird's power, Mu Chen displayed great might, and to everyone's stunned gazes, he brutally beat Liu Jingshan, who was full of ambition, to death.
Although the power came from the Nine Nether Bird, Mu Chen was still more grateful to Amon; in his opinion, it was because of Amon that the Nine Nether Bird helped.
Mu Chen saved his father, thwarted Liu Jingshan's conspiracy, and also made a grand display in front of the nine territory lords, elevating the prestige of the Mu Territory to a new level.
Nine Nether Bird's ownership was transferred from Amon to Mu Chen, and she saw hope of regaining her freedom.
Amon completed her first transaction and gained Mu Chen's gratitude.
This was a win-win-win!
Only Liu Qingtian and Liu Mubai, the father and son, looked at Mu Chen as if they had seen a ghost.
Liu Mubai said incredulously: "How could you possibly kill my grandfather? What methods did you use?"
Mu Chen was unable to answer Liu Mubai's question; after killing Liu Jingshan, he also suffered severe damage to his body due to being unable to withstand the Nine Nether Bird's immense energy, and fell unconscious.
Mu Feng was worried about Mu Chen's safety and dared not stay long in Nine Territories City, rushing back to the Mu Territory with him.
The great battle in Nine Territories City ultimately ended with Mu Chen powerfully slaying Liu Jingshan.
Liu Jingshan's ambition was cut short halfway through, dying at the hands of a young man, which gave people a particularly absurd feeling.
The Liu Territory paid the price for their actions, losing more than half of their territory.
Mu Feng wanted to completely wipe them out, but the other territory lords subtly seemed to hinder him.
No one was not alarmed by the strength Mu Chen displayed when he powerfully killed Liu Jingshan.
The other few territory lords realized that this was not his own power and that its use likely had many restrictions, thus they were wary of the Mu Territory but not overly fearful.
They did not want the Mu Territory's influence to swell too much.
Half a month later, Mu Chen finally woke up from his coma.