With the Ice Phoenix Bloodline activated, a bone-chilling cold permeated the entire back mountain of the Guhe Sect. Even Gu Tianhe, a cultivator at the fifth stage of the Mystic Void Realm, had to circulate his internal energy just to barely withstand the cold.
"Miss Shen, please don't be angry. Let's talk things over."
"Get out of the way, or else..."
Yu Xiyan didn't finish her sentence, but her icy gaze clearly indicated what would happen if they didn't comply.
At this moment, Chu Yang was also running the Nine Yang True Fire Technique at full capacity, resisting the cold. Besides being shocked, he was even more certain that his judgment was correct.
The woman I've taken a liking to is truly extraordinary. The Ice Phoenix Bloodline just so happens to be able to perfect the flaws in my Nine Yang True Fire Technique. Hehe, you'll obediently be my Cauldron from now on!
He's really just a carbon-based life form who only thinks with his lower body. He'll never amount to anything.
Gu Tianhe didn't know what to do. If he agreed, what would become of his sect master's face?
If he didn't agree, a fierce battle was inevitable today. Even if they took down this Shen Zhao, there was no guarantee that the forces behind her wouldn't pursue the matter.
After all, someone with this kind of bloodline constitution couldn't possibly be a nobody, a mere rogue cultivator. Perhaps she was a disciple from some reclusive family or sect, out to gain experience?
Just as both sides were at a standstill, Shen Zhao spoke, breaking the stalemate.
"You, surnamed Gu, just say what you want! No need to beat around the bush!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Tianhe immediately said, "It's simple. As long as Young Hero Shen returns the Supreme Treasure obtained from the Fuxi Abyss to the other fellow cultivators, and sincerely apologizes, this matter can be forgotten. My Guhe Sect will not make any further trouble."
Shen Zhao smiled, then pointed at the other cultivators. "Is that what you all think?"
Hearing this, the others looked at Shen Zhao with eyes that were mocking, yet also carried a hint of sharpness, and they didn't dare to speak rashly.
Chu Yang steeled himself and said, "That's right, you must hand over the opportunities you swindled from us today, or this matter will not be over!"
Shen Zhao laughed, "So, you're saying that the Supreme Treasure we obtained in the Fuxi Abyss should just be given to you for free? What a load of nonsense!"
"Don't try to be evasive, it's a fact that you extorted us, everyone saw it!"
Chu Yang spoke very loudly, acting as if he had a solid argument.
Shen Zhao said, "Let's not get into all this nonsense. I'll just ask you: are the treasures obtained in a cultivator's secret realm individual property or collective property? Answer me!"
Chu Yang immediately said, "What one obtains through their own ability naturally belongs to the individual, but you..."
"Great! Since you said it belongs to the individual, then what are you arguing about?"
"I said 'through your own ability', and what you obtained by illegal means should be handed over!"
"Oh, so what you said earlier was just a load of hot air, right?"
"I..."
Chu Yang finally understood. This guy was clearly trying to mess with his head.
But he was so incredibly intelligent, his IQ consistently above two hundred and fifty, how could he be led around by the nose?
That was impossible.
So Chu Yang said, "In short, everything you've gained is the result of the joint efforts of all the fellow Daoists. How can you take it all for yourself!"
Too clever, Chu Yang felt his words were righteous and awe-inspiring, he almost moved himself.
Shen Zhao, however, revealed a smirk of triumph and said to Ding Bu'er, who was dumbfounded beside him, "Master Ding, do you think this Ninth Prince's words make sense?"
Ding Bu'er snapped back to his senses and instantly saw the hidden meaning in Shen Zhao's eyes. He immediately understood that this guy was up to no good again, so he immediately cooperated, "I think, although what His Highness the Ninth Prince said is far-fetched,
but upon careful consideration, it's not entirely unreasonable. Shen-ye, you should just admit defeat, admit your mistake, and return the thing to them. Consider it a good deed, there's no need to make things so tense."
Upon hearing that even Ding Bu'er was speaking for him, Chu Yang immediately revealed a smug expression and sneered at Shen Zhao, "Did you hear that, Shen Zhao? The people's hearts are with me! Even your own people think I'm right. Why don't you just do as I say?"
Shen Zhao narrowed his eyes and sighed, "In that case, if I make things too difficult for you today, it won't look good for me either. I agree to hand over the Supreme Treasure."
"Really?"
"Shen Zhao, are you really..."
Chu Yang was overjoyed, while Yu Xiyan revealed a look of disbelief.
Yu Xiyan knew Shen Zhao's personality. Except for her and his family, to whom he would be soft and ingratiating, no one else could get any advantage from him.
"But!"
Chu Yang was about to burst out laughing, but Shen Zhao pointed a finger at him, and his expression immediately changed.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Since you want me to hand over all the Supreme Treasures, then you must also hand over the Elixirs that belong to this Ninth Prince!"
Chu Yang's face turned ashen with anger: "Stop talking nonsense! When did I take your Elixirs?"
"The moment we left the Fuxi Abyss. You asked me to buy three Elixirs, but you only paid for two. Have you forgotten so quickly?"
"I didn't! Absolutely not!"
Chu Yang immediately retorted loudly.
"Don't listen to his nonsense! I clearly only bought two Elixirs! One today, one yesterday, where would a third one come from?"
"Fellow cultivators! Don't forget how this Ninth Prince, Chu Yang, tricked you into becoming cannon fodder. Is it really impossible for him to have pocketed my Elixir?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the cultivators who had been firmly on Chu Yang's side began to whisper amongst themselves.
Indeed, this Chu Yang seemed to be of good appearance, but in reality, he was cunning, calculating, and ruthless. In the Fuxi Abyss, over a hundred cultivators had been killed because of him in just three days.
Seeing the situation turning against him, Chu Yang immediately took out his Storage Pouch: "This is my Storage Pouch. The spirit stones and Elixirs inside all belong to the Great Xia Kingdom. Does it contain the Elixir you mentioned?"
Gu Tianhe took the Storage Pouch and scanned it with his spiritual sense. Indeed, there was no special Elixir aura inside.
But Shen Zhao laughed, "How precious are my Elixirs? You were injured at the time and immediately swallowed it."
"Shen Zhao! Don't you dare spew blood!"
"Am I talking nonsense? You asked me to buy three pills, but you only paid for two!"
"Shen, may you rot in hell! I clearly only bought two pills!"
"You say two is two? Is this how you bully people?"
Shen Zhao became more and more agitated as he spoke, even waving his hand and saying, "You rely on your reputation as a member of the Great Xia royal family to swagger around, shouting at the top of your lungs. You're even unwilling to pay me for the money I worked so hard to make the healing elixir. Isn't this bullying honest people?"
Honest people?
Not only Chu Yang and Gu Tianhe, but even Yu Xiyan were somewhat surprised by this statement.
If you're an honest person, it's more believable that the neighbor's grandson has my surname.
Chu Yang trembled with anger: "Shen Zhao! You are simply a rogue and a scoundrel!"
Saying this, he pulled over the petrified Ma Jun, "Tell me! How many Pills did I actually buy?"
Ma Jun glanced at Shen Zhao, then lowered his head and whispered, "It seems... maybe... uh... three."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ding Bu'er was the first to rush forward, kicking him to the ground, "Impossible! The Ninth Prince is a noble of Great Xia, how could he possibly swindle Shen-ye's medicine!"
"It's three Pills, but he only paid for two."
Ma Jun repeated quietly.
Chu Yang was instantly dumbfounded, never expecting his IQ of 250 to be played like a fool.
No, he had to prove his innocence.
He really only bought two this time, definitely not three.
Although he often engaged in extortion back home.
He always did it secretly, so no one would find out, and those who did were eliminated, physically.
The important thing was, he was really innocent this time.
At this moment, Shen Zhao spoke, "His Highness, the Ninth Prince, is from the Great Xia royal family, and Sect Master Gu is the master of a sect. I am also an executive officer of the Arbitration Council, and we should be fair."
Then, he walked in front of Chu Yang and poked him in the chest with his finger, "You must prove today that you only took two of my Pills!"
"How do I prove it!?"
"Simple! After my Pills enter the body, the residual effects of the Elixir will leave behind a Residual Core for seven days. If you really only ate two Pills, then there should only be two Residual Cores in your body now."
Chu Yang was startled at the words, instantly understanding Shen Zhao's intent.
How ruthless!
Seeing Chu Yang remain silent, Shen Zhao immediately added, "Of course, if His Highness the Ninth Prince is unwilling, there's nothing I can do. After all, you pampered royal lords can't understand the hardships of us medicine buyers."
Chu Yang was so angry he couldn't speak.
Just then, Ding Bu'er, holding a black iron dagger with both hands, quickly knelt before Chu Yang, saying with a pained expression, "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, prove to everyone that you really only bought two, not three. He's trying to swindle you!"
"Fine!"
Chu Yang's mind went blank. He snatched the dagger, and before Gu Tianhe and the others could exclaim, he plunged it directly into his abdomen.
Blood immediately spurted out, and the cultivators were shocked.
Shen Zhao was also startled, not expecting this guy to actually disembowel himself to prove his innocence. He swore he was just saying it casually.
However, he didn't have a shred of sympathy. Instead, he stared at Ding Bu'er's abdomen and casually asked, "Where are the pills? Where are they? The wound isn't deep enough, I can't see them. Make it deeper."
"Screech!"
Chu Yang gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he plunged the blade another three inches into Ding Bu'er's body, then sliced to the left, widening the wound.
"Your Highness! I yield!"
Ding Bu'er immediately cried out in alarm, his face contorted in a look of pure agony.
Finally, Chu Yang, suppressing the excruciating pain, dug out two Residual Cores from Ding Bu'er's abdomen, his hands trembling as he showed them to the crowd, "See? Just two! Just two!"
This scene of intense drama shocked everyone present, even the group from the Guhe Sect were stunned.
What the hell, is this guy an idiot?
Great Xia's royal family is really this level?
With this kind of IQ, even someone at the Body Tempering Realm could probably beat him.
This was the first thought that flashed through everyone's minds.
"Hahaha, two, two..."
Unaware of anything amiss, Chu Yang was still trying to prove his innocence to the crowd.
At this moment, Shen Zhao said, "Hmm, it seems I remembered incorrectly. You did indeed only buy two pills. My apologies, I wrongly accused you."
Seeing this, Ding Bu'er immediately reddened his eyes and said, "Your Highness, hold on! I'll go find a doctor to save you!"
With that, he left the group without looking back.
"Pfft… I've been tricked…"
Chu Yang, finally realizing what had happened, coughed up a mouthful of blood and instantly fainted.
"Quick, quick, take him to the Hall of Pharmacists for treatment! His Highness, the Ninth Prince, absolutely cannot have anything happen to him!"
The Guhe Sect disciples scrambled to carry Chu Yang away from the scene.
After he was gone, Gu Tianhe said, "Young Hero Shen, you have a vicious mind. But since His Highness the Ninth Prince has already proven he doesn't owe you for the Elixir, shouldn't you also fulfill your promise?"
"Promise? What promise? What do you want me to fulfill?"
Shen Zhao feigned a bewildered expression, retorting.
Gu Tianhe's face darkened.
Only then did they realize that Shen Zhao was clearly toying with them!
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition:
" The Worst Torture!kidnapped by an Arrogant Woman 18+ "
" Akiyuki Raren Doesn't Want to Be Worked to Death 18+ "
" After the Protagonist Ascended, I Set My Sights on His Women 18+ "
" Virtual World: Conquering the World "
" Hidden Demon Lord, the Empress Brings a Child to My Door Demanding Responsibility 18+
" The Goddess Brings a Child to My Door, Awakening the Dad System! "
" Naruto: God-Level Evolution System "
" My Wife Is a Villain? The System Wants Me to Do Pure Love! "
" Signed In for Three Years, and the Band Still Kicked Me Out? "
" Empress for Nine Lifetimes, I Reborn and Crushed the System to Run Away (18+) "
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/RoyalStories
(End of Chapter)