176 Chapter 176
Though Gu Yuena possessed neither divine sense nor cultivation method, her power of premonition was uncannily sharp; fleeting fragments alone sometimes let her know of events a thousand li away.
Uneasy, she lowered her voice. "It feels like a great battle is happening."
Chu Feng was astonished—the tournament was perfectly calm. "Where's the war?" he asked, puzzled.
"Seems to be in the direction of Sword Sect," Gu Yuena murmured hesitantly.
Could it be that Meng Ran had returned to fight for Sword Sect, together with Chu Feng's monkey? If true, the danger would be immense; Chu Feng grew frantic.
Zhu Zhuyun walked over beaming, the seven-story soul locking pagoda in her hand. Calmly she said, "I'm giving you this treasure. When we meet again, I hope you'll be a worthy opponent."
Such a sudden farewell made Chu Feng even more anxious—was the Martial Arts Tournament merely a cover? What was the real truth?
"The truth is: every Sect will kneel at the feet of Fusen City—hahaha!"
General A Gang sprang onto the stage and shouted; soldiers poured in from every side and seized all the competing cultivators.
Though these soldiers had scant spiritual energy, the treasures in their hands were formidable—each held a Black Dragon Pearl.
The Black Dragon on the bamboo seemed to come alive, glowing purple; once an incantation was spoken the cultivators were sucked straight inside.
Gu Yuena, alarmed, clung tightly to Chu Feng; the scene dissolved into chaos.
Elder Qie Jiang had long vanished, while White God Path stood on the stage, fists clenched, still hesitating. General A Gang regarded him triumphantly. "Many thanks!"
Zhu Zhuyun instantly disappeared as well; the soldiers advanced toward Chu Feng.
The powerful radiance of the Black Dragon Pearl reduced Chu Feng's spiritual energy to zero for the moment, yet drawing him in proved difficult.
Chu Feng stood firm as Mount Tai by virtue of the Qiankun Cover. General A Gang spotted him at once. "Still resisting?"
He strode forward and struck the shield with a heavy palm. Chu Feng staggered backward; the force was tremendous. Fortunately his spirit body protected him, or his insides would have shattered.
At last White God Path acted, leaping down from the stage, robes billowing; his mighty aura knocked the pearls from the soldiers' hands.
General A Gang roared, "You would break our agreement?"
"Not at all. These two are my friends; your objective is achieved—do not go too far." White God Path's expression was grim.
A Gang's brows relaxed and he smiled. "Of course. Then please leave the stage at once!"
Chu Feng said, "White God Path, a city lord of your stature wouldn't stoop to such shady dealings, would you?"
White God Path's eyes turned fierce. "Speak another useless word and die." With a sweep of his sleeve he was already far from the arena.
The so-called Martial Arts Tournament had barely begun before it ended; Chu Feng was left utterly bewildered.
The clear sound of flowing water reached his ears as White God Path brought the pair to a small waterfall in an empty valley.
Gu Yuena, somewhat angry, demanded, "What exactly was this cooperation you spoke of?"
White God Path removed his robe and laid it on a rock, then sat in meditation, unhurried and unruffled, offering no direct answer.
When Chu Feng reached out, the man's spiritual energy flung him back; six spirit bodies flickered in and out—his strength could not be scorned.
"I can't just stay here and cultivate with you—I need to get to the bottom of this!" Chu Feng was ready to leave on the spot.
But White God Path immobilized him with a sigh. "It's useless—by now Sword Sect has been razed to the ground."
Gu Yuena cried, "That's the cooperation you had with that man?"
"Not quite. I merely agreed with Fusen City to hand over everyone in this tournament for them to deal with."
"I never thought you were such a sanctimonious hypocrite."
"Yet compared with the safety of everyone in Tianyun City it counts for little. However strong my cultivation, I dare not gamble with the lives of the whole city."
"Is Fusen City that formidable?"
"Not Fusen itself—the one behind it."
"Behind the scenes?"
"A man from the Immortal Realm, I hear he's called Immortal Silver Law. Before ascending he was the city lord of Cloud City in the mortal world; he and I had dealings long ago."
"Cloud City? Back then he wanted to sacrifice the entire city to survive his tribulation—fortunately he failed."
"You knew him too?"
"Even so, don't you think you're being rather cowardly?"
…At this point White God Path fell silent; yes, fear of immortals had driven him to this dirty bargain, for he had personally tasted the gulf between man and god.
"You mean the battle ten years ago between my father and the Heavenly Dao?" Gu Yuena mused aloud.
"Exactly. When gods descended into the human realm, a single sentence could shake the entire world; their immortal underlings could wipe out a hundred thousand with a wave of the hand—humans are but ants." White God Path sighed.
Chu Feng cleared his throat, stepped onto a rock, and carved the words "Heavenly Dao."
White God Path opened his eyes. "What are you doing?"
Chu Feng slashed a line through "Heavenly Dao," then crushed the characters beneath his foot and spread his hands. "Nothing special."
"You're merely flesh and blood; you haven't even set foot in immortality—what makes you think you can challenge what lies beyond?" White God Path was unconvinced.
"Since you don't believe me, let's wager: within nine thousand years I shall stand upon the Great Dao." Chu Feng's face was utterly serious.
"Nine thousand? Don't joke—humans live only a thousand even after the Eighth Realm."
"I will live nine thousand, and so will you."
"Even then, I have nothing to stake."
"Yes, you do: from now on you'll address me as City Lord."
"That simple? You're an amusing lad."
…Much remained unclear—where Zhu Zhuyun and Bai Xu had gone, the state of Tianyun City, and whether Meng Ran even existed.
All of it clung to Chu Feng like a fog of riddles, but right now his most urgent task was to fill his stomach.
As the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art grew more refined, Chu Feng's hunger came faster and faster.
Gu Yuena teased, "You're not hungry again, are you?"
"If you wish to devour vast amounts of spiritual energy, I can take you somewhere," White God Path said, rising.
"First, I don't feed on the living."
"Naturally."
"Where?"
"The Joint Six-City Prison."
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