The night air felt heavy and oppressive, weighing down on me as if my weaker state had spread to the world itself.
“What will it be, little Azure Peak disciple?” Mo Xing asked pleasantly, but there was a dangerous undercurrent to it. "Will you give me the flower, or do I need to persuade you?"
I glanced at my teammates. Su Yue’s hands had moved slightly into position for her flame techniques while Liu Chang’s stance had widened almost imperceptibly to prepare for his Immutable Titan Scripture. Even though I knew that it would be futile to fight against an Elemental Realm cultivator, their loyalty touched me.
"Are you really robbing juniors of their treasures, senior?" I asked, targeting his pride while buying time to think of some plan. “I figured the Morning Star Sect had more dignity than to resort to such despicable measures.”
Mo Xing's lips quirked into a humorless smile. “Dignity is a luxury few can afford in the cultivation world, youngster. In fact, I much prefer to think of it as correcting a misalignment of fate. The stars clearly showed the flower belonged with us.”
Knowing that the Morning Star cultivator wouldn’t back off, I considered using the baby star in my inner world to attack, unleashing the full force of star energy at my disposal. The damage from the attack would probably be enough to inflict severe damage, or even kill, a Peak Elemental Realm cultivator.
It would be my life, or at the very least, damage so serious I would probably never recover. However, unlike those brash protagonists in the cultivation stories, I had no intention of sacrificing my life for a simple treasure.
"Look," I said, trying to think of a way I could still benefit from this. After all, the Morning Star disciple was a Peak Elemental Realm cultivator, surely he had something worthwhile. “Clearly, the flower is important to the both of us. Let’s negotiate to exchange it-”
Dammit, I had hoped this guy would have the decency to give us something in return, but it seemed for all his talk about fate and destiny, he was nothing but a despicable thief. Sigh, regardless of what he was, it wasn’t worth losing my life over. As for Madam Butterfly and her secrets, well, there were always other ways of uncovering the truth, but there was no way for me to come back from death, at least not in this world.
Just when I was going to retrieve my storage ring, a single word resounded through the night.
It wasn't directed at me, but at Mo Xing.
The command carried such weight, such irresistible power, that even my body started clenching involuntarily. Mo Xing’s body became stiff, and the confident expression on his face instantly changed to one of shock.
"What?" he replied as his eyes opened wide in disbelief when he realized that he could not move. "How is this possible? Who..."
"Bullying juniors in my territory?" the new voice piped in. "I simply cannot allow such behavior to continue."
Out of the shadows of some trees came a middle-aged man dressed simply yet elegantly in golden robes. At the first glance, he didn’t look like much—average height, bookish look, no weapon or talisman on display. However, the weight that emanated from him was anything but casual. The air around him bent to his will, he carried the authority of a king.
“City Lord” Liu Chang whispered beside me.
My eyes widened slightly. So, this was Jiang Tianhong, the Stellar Realm expert who ruled Wuqi City with iron-fist authority. Looks like he had flown here personally to interfere. While this was unexpected, it wasn’t necessarily in our favor. Since the City Lord was here, it could only be for one reason: the herb.
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"How...?" Mo Xing managed to force out, still frozen in place. "How did you find us? My senior's concealment technique..."
The City Lord smiled, and it was a nice smile, but somehow it made the hair on my neck tingle. "Trying to hide anything within my territory is useless, Mo Xing. Every blade of grass, every grain of soil answers to me. Your senior's technique might fool other Stellar Realm cultivators, but to me?" He chuckled softly. "It was like watching children play hide-and-seek behind transparent curtains."
Mo Xing's color drained away as the gravity of his situation set in. Even if he was more powerful than us, it would be suicide to go against someone from the Stellar Realm.
“My senior…he won’t let this stand,” Mo Xing cried out, “you should release me while you still have the chance, Jiang Tianhong!”
The City Lord frowned, clearly, he didn’t enjoy being directly addressed by a cultivator he deemed unworthy.
“Your senior has more important matters to deal with,” he glanced at the direction he came from, “he will not be helping anyone anytime soon.”
With those ominous words, Jiang Tianhong turned his attention to me, and I felt the full weight of his gaze like physical pressure on my skin. As I looked into his eyes, I noticed it was a colour that was neither gold nor silver; something in-between, and it changed colour like quicksilver in the moonlight.
“Now then,” he said, stretching his hand out towards me. “Why don’t you let me hold onto this herb of yours, little disciple, it’s already caused quite enough trouble for the night, no?”
I blinked, feeling a frown appear on my face as I looked down at his outstretched hand. I couldn't help but recognise the irony in the situation: the City Lord had interrupted Mo Xing's attempted robbery only to perform one of his own. The only difference was that his cultivation level was two entire great realms higher than mine, which made his robbery even more outrageous.
“Is there a problem, young friend?” Jiang Tianhong asked in a pleasant tone before his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Nothing, City Lord," I answered, suppressing the bitterness, that was coursing through my entire being, in a respectful manner. “I am just… surprised you decided to get involved with such minor matters.”
The meaning was clear: he should stop bullying Qi Condensation cultivators and fight someone in his own realm!
"The Moonlit Dew Flower is a treasure of my city," he smoothly replied without a hint of shame. "I cannot allow it to become a point of contention for the visiting sects. It is my responsibility to see to it."
I nodded as though that totally made sense, but inwardly, I was seething. This was pure hypocrisy dressed up as benevolence. I could feel Azure's worry as my anger started to rise.
"Master," he warned silently. “This is not a fight we can win. Not today.”
"I know," I responded mentally, calming myself down. "But someday, I will ascend to a higher cultivation level and pay this City Lord a visit to remind him of this matter, and let him know how I really feel."
The look in my eyes must have revealed something because Jiang Tianhong’s expression changed slightly, and for a brief moment, the nice mask fell off. What lay behind it was something colder and more calculating.
“Young friend,” he said. “I can almost see the thoughts forming in your mind. Thoughts of revenge, perhaps? I’ll give you some free advice: abandon them.” He moved closer and the pressure of his spiritual essence became stronger. I had to lock my knees to stay standing.
"Do you know how few cultivators ever break through to the Elemental Realm? And of those, how many are able to reach the Stellar Realm?" His quicksilver eyes seemed to look right through me. "Even if you were to be that one-in-a-million talent who reaches my level, you still wouldn't be able to kill me. You would need to enter the Life Realm to even have a chance, and that is only if I haven’t broken through myself."
The contempt in his voice was unmistakable. He was discarding my entire future, my potential, what I might become – with the casual certainty of swatting an insect.
I kept my face carefully blank, fighting to control my expression. "I understand, City Lord," I whispered, the words tasted like ashes in my mouth.
"Good," he nodded. “Now, hand over the herb and leave. Consider it a mercy, and don't even try to seek me out until you reach the Life Realm.”
I had just begun to reach towards my storage ring, after all, what choice did I have, when a new voice suddenly cut through the night air.
"Well then," the voice drawled from behind us, "it's a good thing that I'm in the Life Realm."
The words fell like thunder in the clearing. The City Lord's head snapped up, his expression shifting to one of genuine shock for the first time. Even Mo Xing, still partially bound by the command technique, managed to turn his head towards the source of the voice.
From the edge of the clearing, a figure emerged as though he’d just stumbled upon us by accident. It was a middle-aged man with ordinary features and graying temples. He was dressed in traveler's clothes, somewhat dusty from the journey, and had a large wine gourd at his hip.
At first glance, there was nothing about his appearance that suggested he held extraordinary power. In fact, he could be mistaken for a merchant who had fallen on hard times. No one of significance.
But I recognized him immediately. It was Elder Chen Yong—my master.