"Tell me every detail about the villain," Zhou Yan commanded, his voice cold and measured.
The guard swallowed hard before speaking. "At first, we didn't know who she was. Lord Xuanyuan sent us to collect dowries from the people. Lord Zhou Yan, you know what our goal is. We need to gather dowries and also find pure women for sacrifice."
"Mmm..." Zhou Yan murmured, his arms crossed over his chest as he listened intently to the guard's description.
"When the people had been gathered in one place, we found an enticing woman wearing a white and green robe. She has a veil over her face and a lovely figure, but her eyes reveal that she is truly remarkable. Even our chief praised her and planned to bring her to Lord Xuanyuan."
The guard paused, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
The detail was not fully discussed, but Zhou Yan slowly turned his head, his gaze piercing as he looked at his son Zhou Xuanyuan standing beside him. He smirked, a knowing glint in his eyes, and spoke with deliberate emphasis.
"If I hadn't arrived early and you had killed your guards without hearing the incident, you would never have known who wiped out your warriors." He took a step closer to his son, his expression hardening. "Son, one thing you should know: if you act on your temper without seeking confirmation, you'll end up empty-headed for sure."
Zhou Yan let his words sink in before stepping back and snapping his attention back to the trembling guards standing before them.
"Continue," he ordered sharply.
The guard cleared his throat, his hands clasped tightly together as he continued to reveal the details.
"My Lord, we saw the woman's face; she was truly beauteous. I mean, she is incomparable. Just like a goddess descended to the earth. I—" He struggled to find the words, his voice trailing off. "It's hard to explain."
Zhou Yan's brows furrowed deeply, his jaw tightening. Beside him, Zhou Xuanyuan's expression darkened with suspicion.
"Then why did you let that woman escape? Since you caught her!" Zhou Xuanyuan barked, his voice rising as he thrust his hand forward in a flash of desperation, his body tensing with frustration.
His father, Zhou Yan, turned sharply toward him, eyes wide with shock at his son's outburst.
"Son, calm down," he said, raising his hand in a placating gesture.
Zhou Xuanyuan fell silent, his jaw clenched as he struggled to contain his anger.
"Then what happened next?" Zhou Yan asked, turning his attention back to the guard.
"That woman at first looked so timid, but unexpectedly has a sharp tongue," the guard replied, his voice tinged with lingering disbelief.
"Oh!" Zhou Yan expressed, his eyebrows raising with intrigue.
"Lord Zhou Yan, what does 'bullshit' mean? Chief was offended so much by her," the guard inquired hesitantly, clearly confused by the foreign word.
Zhou Yan paused, his expression freezing for a moment before he glanced at his son with a questioning look.
Zhou Xuanyuan only shook his head slowly, unable to answer the question either.
If they were both clueless about those words, does it mean that their chief was a time traveler also?
Why does he understand the word and become so angry, while others don't?
A wild gasp escaped from Zhou Yan's lips, his eyes widening with realization.
"I have been living for more than a thousand years; it is the first time I have heard that mysterious word. Judging by that, it seems so vulgar," he said, his tone laced with suspicion.
"You're right, Lord Zhou Yan," the guard agreed, nodding vigorously.
"Then what happened next?" Zhou Yan pressed, his gaze sharpening.
"Actually, we caught her, and she agreed to come with us. But there was an old man merchant shouting nonsense that made her hesitant," the guard explained, his voice wavering slightly.
Zhou Xuanyuan, who had been listening intently, instinctively stepped forward and asked the guard with growing curiosity.
"Who's that old man? What did he say?" he pressed, his eyes narrowing.
The guard took a breath and recited the words carefully. "He said: 'Don't let yourself be dragged by them. It's not what you want to be. The future lies ahead for you—bright, vast, waiting! If you give in now, heaven itself will not forgive it!'"
The message was profound and meaningful. Zhou Xuanyuan's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately turned to look at his father, Zhou Yan.
He faced him directly, his voice urgent. "Father, what does that mean?"
With his arms still folded across his chest, Zhou Yan stood in contemplative silence, his mind racing with suspicion as he pieced together the disturbing implications.
"Heaven?" Zhou Yan murmured, the word barely escaping his lips.
In the stillness, his mind drifted back to a vivid memory. He remembered the sudden appearance of a dark cloud forming a cyclone in the sky, accompanied by heavy thunder and flashing lightning that split the heavens.
That sign was not something that could be seen in the mortal realm—it only appeared in sacred places, specially manifested when cultivators underwent tribulation.
But unexpectedly, that sign had appeared in an instant, without warning.
During his moment of reflection, he also recalled what his other son, Zhou Mingze, had asked him at that time. "What does that sign mean?" Zhou Mingze had inquired with concern.
Zhou Yan had answered with certainty: "A big fish is infiltrating the immortal domain."
He snapped back to the present, his eyes refocusing on the guards before him, his expression now filled with doubt and growing alarm.
Zhou Yan's face shifted to an expression of understanding, but a wave of uneasiness coursed through his nerves, making his fingers twitch slightly.
He couldn't even answer Zhou Xuanyuan's question; it seemed that he didn't know what he was going to say himself.
The only way forward was to continue questioning the guards who had encountered the villain and survived.
Desperately, the guards exposed every detail, their words tumbling out in a rush. They said that the woman was something special. Some lives were taken because of her, and not just that—some had also willingly died to save her.
Absolutely, that was a vivid description, not just a trivial matter.
Zhou Yan blinked slowly, processing the information. For a moment, he felt as though he was dreaming, watching these pitiful, badly injured guards confessing before him.
Yes, as he heard, the villain was a woman. But not just a mere woman. Killing over forty-eight warriors trained and cultivated for over three centuries wasn't a joke.
Their warriors had learned to cultivate both immortal and demonic arts; their combined power should have been potent.
If the woman truly killed the forty-eight warriors effortlessly, then she must be unfathomable—not just an ordinary cultivator.
If, in Zhou Xuanyuan's opinion, it was just a joke, but for his father Zhou Yan, it was entirely possible.
For a firm reason, Zhou Yan had already seen a powerful woman before, with the same description given by these guards.
That was long ago, when his sons Xuanyuan and Mingze didn't exist yet.
"Those forty-eight men died. Why did both of you survive? How?" Zhou Yan asked the guards again, his voice filled with curiosity and a hint of suspicion.
"We were spared. Then we hid nearby," the guard answered, his voice trembling. "We saw the warriors fall, and then she left a word to send to Lord Xuanyuan."
Zhou Xuanyuan, who had been listening in silence, suddenly tilted his head, his interest piqued.
"What message?"
The guard glanced at his companion beside him, hesitating as he considered whether he should deliver the words. His companion nodded in silence, a grim expression on his face. It was better to let him hear so that he would be alarmed.
Slowly, the guard gulped hard, drawing the courage to speak.
"She—she said: 'Tell whoever sent you, that I won't bow to anyone,'" the guard stammered, his voice barely above a whisper as he confessed the message.
Zhou Xuanyuan's cheeks and ears flushed red upon hearing the guard's message, his whole body trembling with rage.
"Excessively arrogant!" he seethed through gritted teeth, his jaw clenching so tightly that the muscles in his face strained. His nostrils flared like a bull's, fuming with barely contained anger.
Looking at him, his father Zhou Yan remained calm, far from speechless. Knowing his son Xuanyuan's temper, he recognized how different he was from Mingze, who was calm and carefree.
"As you said, it's just a girl. Why are you suddenly bursting out?" Zhou Yan asked him, a hint of amusement in his tone.
Zhou Xuanyuan kicked at the air furiously, his frustration boiling over.
"Father, it's just a girl, but she isn't exceptional enough to humiliate me! I am your son, a prince! How dare she be so insulting... to insult me!" he shouted, his voice cracking with indignation.
Zhou Yan stood silently, observing his son's outburst without a word.
Zhou Xuanyuan swept his robe dramatically behind him and planted his hands firmly on his waist, his chest heaving with anger.
"That woman must not dare to appear in front of me! Even if she's as beautiful as they say, I would never spare her! I'll cut her limb by limb!" he barked, still exasperated, his eyes blazing with fury.
Zhou Yan remained silent, his expression unreadable as he watched his son's theatrical display.
The guard spoke up again, his voice cautious.
"Also, my Lord." He paused, swallowing nervously. "This woman is truly formidable. Unbelievably, she broke the trap. The... Ten Direction Annihilation Array."
Both Zhou Yan and Zhou Xuanyuan froze, their eyes widening in shock, rendered completely speechless.
"Impossible!" Zhou Xuanyuan burst out, his voice rising in disbelief as he took a step forward.
"How could she?" Zhou Yan inquired, his voice sharp with curiosity, his composure finally cracking.
"Aside from being formidable, she is excellent in martial arts. Combining her speed, skills, and spiritual power, the warriors wavered," the guard explained, then ducked his head in deference. "My Lord Zhou Xuanyuan, we are telling you according to what we saw. This woman is truly unfathomable, and it was the first time we saw a woman who could operate spiritual fire."
Immediately, Zhou Yan's head snapped toward the guards, his gaze piercing and intense, like a blade cutting through the air.
"What did you say?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous low tone.
The first guard pressed his lips together tightly, refusing to speak again, fear evident in his trembling frame. But the other one stepped forward courageously, determined to speak for the sake of complete honesty.
"Allow me to speak, My Lord," he said, bowing his head respectfully.
Zhou Yan exhaled slowly, his breath heavy with tension.
"Go ahead," he commanded, his voice steady but laced with anticipation.
"We encountered the woman with a golden mark on her forehead," the guard revealed, his words hanging in the air like a thunderclap.
Zhou Yan's entire body went rigid, his eyes widening in utter shock, his face draining of color as the revelation struck him like lightning.