Chapter 387: Discarded Pawn

Fang Chen found that he could use the Eight Desolation Supreme Sword Scripture a lot easier than before. It didn't burn his lifespan anymore. However, his spiritual energy had still been completely exhausted. However, that was fine, it was recovering at an extremely fast rate.

Fang Chen pondered for a moment.

My spiritual energy didn’t increase by much. If before it was equivalent to a dozen or so cultivators at the 12th stage of Qi Refining Realm, it's at most double that now. Little Sword's advancement to the third rank mainly improved the power of the sword body.

His spiritual energy reserves weren't comparable to an ordinary mid stage Foundation Building Realm cultivator, so it wasn't his reserves that supported his usage of the Eight Desolation Supreme Sword Scripture. It couldn't have been the thing that allowed him to kill an early stage Golden Core Realm cultivator with no repercussions.

Fang Chen's eyes lit up. "Is it because of my immortal sword veins?"

The power that sword strike held seemed to have stemmed from his twelve immortal sword veins. Not only was it terrifyingly powerful, it didn't consume his lifespan this time. This was very likely due to his immortal sword veins. However, he still couldn't confirm the exact reasons behind this at the moment.

The area had fallen completely silent.

All of the Divine Monarch had been stunned silly when they saw the Demon Cloud Emperor being slain with a single sword. As fear brewed in their hearts, their gazes turned toward Fang Chen with astonishment and dread.

Profound White Divine Monarch's face turned pale, feeling a bitter sensation in his throat. "Has he been using me all along to lure out the emperor?"

If he wasn't mistaken, the swordsman had been pretending all along. He had manipulated him into dragging the emperor out. This was the only explanation; otherwise, why would such a powerful sword cultivator, who could easily slay the Demon Cloud Emperor, play a game of cat-and-mouse with him?

The Divine Monarchs stiffened. The tables had been turned in a split second. They, who had been the hunters, had now turned into prey.

Fang Chen asked softly, "Since the Demon Cloud Emperor has already left on his way, gentlemen, would you like to accompany him on his journey?"

Profound White Divine Monarch was horrified.

The faces of the other Divine Monarchs turned fearful.

"The Hidden Cloud Ancestor is… is behind the Demon Cloud Empire," said Profound White Divine Monarch, his voice hoarse. "Many cultivators have attempted to eradicate evil in the name of justice before, but they have all—"

"What does that have to do with me?" interrupted Fang Chen.

A myriad of sword lights shot out.

After a dozen or so breaths, Fang Chen put away several dozen storage rings. He then returned down to the crevice and collected Du Fei's skeleton before quietly departing.

The power of the earth surged, and within just a few breaths, all traces of the battle were completely erased. There were no traces that the Demon Cloud Emperor as well as the other Divine Monarchs had ever been here.

This event would remain an unsolved mystery for a long time. Everyone would be forever puzzled as to where Demon Cloud Emperor and his companions had disappeared off to.

***

In a quiet room in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Shopkeeper Lin's face was dark.

His subordinates looked frightened, but they kept their heads down and their mouths shut.

"What a bunch of useless trash. You couldn't even handle a few juniors in the Qi Refining Realm? You couldn't even retrieve the Snake Spirit Fruit?" shouted Shopkeeper Lin in anger, the veins on his forehead bulging with fury.

"The Snake Spirit Fruit couldn't be retrieved, and there's no news from the Demon Cloud Emperor's side. It's getting harder and harder to do business these days," muttered Shopkeeper Lin.

Suddenly, a servant walked in and whispered, "Shopkeeper Lin, there's a guest who wants to see you."

"Who are they? Why do they want to see me?" asked Shopkeeper Lin.

Impatient, Shoperkeep Lin walked out before the servant could respond. "Forget it, I'll go out and see for myself."

In the bustling hall, Shopkeeper Lin approached the figure, who had his back facing him.

"I heard you have a big deal to discuss with me, Sir?"

Fang Chen turned to look at Shopkeeper Lin and nodded lightly. "It indeed is a big deal. You'd better clear the scene."

Shopkeeper Lin couldn't believe his eyes..

"It's you!?"

Why is he here? He should be being chased around by the Demon Cloud Emperor's men! Why would he appear here!?

Trying to calm himself down, Shopkeeper Lin forced a smile on his face. "So it's you, esteemed guest. What would you like to buy this time? Just let us know and we'll fulfill all your needs."

"I said it's a big deal. You'd better clear the scene," said Fang Chen softly.

"A big deal?" Shopkeeper Lin's expression turned quizzical. After a moment, he forced a smile and said, "Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is open for business. How can we clear the scene for no reason? Wouldn't that ruin our reputation?"

Fang Chen replied with a smile. "This deal is related to the Demon Cloud Emperor. You can't call the shots on this one, you might need to bring out your manager"

Shopkeeper Lin felt a chill in his heart. He was so shocked he didn't know what to do with his face. After a while, he shouted at his subordinates, "Clear the scene! We're closed for the day!"

"Yes!"

The staff of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion immediately started clearing the scene. Although some cultivators grumbled, no one dared to cause trouble and everyone left eventually.

Soon, the bustling Heavenly Treasure Pavilion became extremely quiet with its gates tightly closed.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Shopkeeper Lin smiled warmly and said, "Could you please explain in detail? I didn’t quite catch what you said. How is this big deal related to the Demon Cloud Emperor? And how do you know about our pavilion’s manager?"

"You don't have a say in this. Bring out your manager," replied Fang Chen with a smile.

At that moment, a figure made his way over.

He had a strong and majestic stature. He had the head of a liger and the body of a man. There was a faint but noticeable aura of spiritual energy around him as he walked.

Everyone, including Shopkeeper Lin, felt very pressured the moment the man appeared.

"Manager!"

Shopkeeper Lin and his subordinates greeted the newcomer respectfully.

The manager remained silent, his gaze calmly fixed on Fang Chen. "Why are you looking for me?"

Fang Chen's brow furrowed slightly. "A puppet?"

The manager's aura wasn't how it used to be. Even though he had a strong aura and could easily pass for a Golden Core Realm cultivator at first glance, Fang Chen was able to sense that something was off with his aura.

Upon closer inspection, Fang Chen realized that this was just a puppet.

The puppet manager sneered. "The Demon Cloud Emperor is my partner and I'm naturally aware of his death. The Hidden Cloud Ancestor knows about this too. He valued the Demon Cloud Emperor greatly. You've killed one of his trusted generals, so you've provoked his personal ire. He's out for you.

"I thought you wouldn't dare to come here to find me, but it seems you did. Unfortunately for you, you had been able to kill the Demon Cloud Emperor, but you won't be able to kill me. My true self has long since left the Demon Cloud Empire."

Fang Chen remained quite calm, but Shopkeeper Lin and the others had already lost color in their faces as they stared blankly at the puppet.

They had become discarded pawns!

The puppet chuckled eerily. "I believe we will meet again soon. For now... if I were you, I would escape from the Demon Cloud Empire as soon as possible. The Hidden Cloud Ancestor is already on his way here."

A flash of sword light appeared and disappeared in an instant.

The next moment, the puppet instantly split into five pieces. Then, a green light flickered on the corpse and turned into several pieces of wood in front of everyone’s eyes.