Chapter 3507: A Trip

Qing Yun stared at the Megalith in confusion as it gave her a thumbs-up gesture with its tail while exposing its large, white teeth. Qing Yun instantly collapsed to the ground as her strength drained away.

Qing Xiao soon returned. He was quite resilient.

After Qing Xiao was thrown away dozens of times, someone else arrived at the courtyard, seeking an audience with Lu Yin. It was Ru Mu, the stunning woman who was said to be a painting in the fray.

"Ru Mu?" Qing Xiao saw Ru Mu as soon as he returned. He was battered and bruised, but he still returned every time he was tossed away.

Ru Mu stared at Qing Xiao, blinking. "What happened to you?"

Qing Xiao rubbed his nose and tried to fix his hair. "We’re just playing around. Nothing more."

Ru Mu laughed. "You really must be enjoying yourself."

Qing Yun was also surprised by Ru Mu's arrival. The two women were familiar with each other, having met in the Ascendant Hall before.

Ru Mu turned to the courtyard and respectfully called out, "Heavenspire’s Ru Mu seeks an audience with the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss."

Old Tao was puzzled. "Girl, why are you here?"

Ru Mu had spoken to Lu Yin in Ninerings City. Back then, she had wanted to say something, but Lu Yin had refused to give her the chance to do so. They had not met again after that, and Old Tao could not understand why the woman had appeared at this time.

Ru Mu continued to face the courtyard and offered a respectful bow. "Heavenspire’s Ru Mu asks to follow the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss."

The moment she uttered those words, Old Tao, Qing Yun, Qing Xiao, Palace Master Yao, Cai Keqing, Astral Anura, and even Lu Yin’s various distant observers were all stunned.

Everyone believed that they must have heard wrong.

Ru Mu wanted to follow the Third Boss?

She was from Heavenspire, and she enjoyed a respectable status there. She could freely come and go from the Ascendant Hall and was admired by countless people. How could such a person ask to follow the Third Boss?

It was too extreme to be a joke.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Qing Xiao was frozen in place. "R- Ru Mu, what did you just say? I couldn’t hear you clearly just now. Could you repeat that?"

Ru Mu stared straight at the courtyard, calm and composed as she awaited Lu Yin's reply.

"Ru Mu, I didn't hear you wrong, did I? You want to follow this Third Boss?" Qing Xiao stepped forward, still staring at the woman. "He just captured my sister and forced her to serve as his maid, and now you're here? Are you crazy?!"

Ru Mu finally turned to look at Qing Xiao, and she gave him a breathtaking smile. "The Third Boss has unmatched strength and incredible ambition. Who wouldn't want to follow such a man?"

Qing Xiao’s mouth fell open.

She really wants to follow him!

Old Tao was also unable to believe Ru Mu’s actions. This was not about following the Third Boss, but rather a matter of allegiance.

The old man clearly understood Ru Mu's background. She could, to some extent, represent Heavenspire as a whole, and Heavenspire belonged solely to the High Seraph.

The Grandverse Manor had violated many of the megaverse’s restrictions, and it had deliberately gone against the Ascendant Hall, even going so far as to directly challenge the High Seraph. Given the circumstances, Ru Mu’s actions here were nothing less than a public taunt towards the High Seraph. What had given her such courage?

Could the High Seraph have ordered her to do this?

Old Tao was not the only one with such thoughts. There were many others thinking the same thing.

If the High Seraph had not ordered Ru Mu to approach the Third Boss, then where could she have found the courage to ask to follow the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss? Did she not fear being hunted down by Heavenspire and the Ascendant Hall? She was not like Palace Master Yao, who was rather independent. Ru Mu was connected to a great number of people within Heavenspire.

Qing Xiao was not an idiot, and so he was able to think of the same thing as well, and therefore, he stepped back.

At this moment, everyone seemed to see a pair of eyes staring from behind Ru Mu. They were the High Seraph’s eyes, and they looked down on the entire megaverse.

This had to be the High Seraph’s scheme. He was allowing Ru Mu to publicly ask to follow Lu Yin to see if Lu Yin dared to accept the woman.

As the Grandverse Manor’s Second Boss and Lu Yin’s loyal lackey, Old Tao felt that it was his duty to eliminate any hidden dangers.

"Leave. The Third Boss won't accept you." Old Tao immediately refused the request.

Ru Mu turned to look at Old Tao. "The Third Boss is the greatest cultivator of his era, and all of his maids are breathtaking beauties. I, Ru Mu, don’t lack in any way compared to them, so why won’t the Third Boss accept me, given his nature?"

Old Tao's expression fell. "If I say no, then it’s a no. Leave now, or else I'll take matters into my own hands."

Ru Mu was only a Spirit Warrior, and she was completely unable to stand up to Old Tao, and yet she smiled brightly at the sight of the old man’s grim face. "Your Grandverse Manor and its Third Boss are bold enough to challenge the High Seraph and try to take him down, and yet you're afraid of a little woman like me?"

"If she wants to follow me, let her. A maid should be fine.

"Now I can have a separate maid for back rubs, shoulder massages, foot washing, and bed warming. With this, I have everything covered. Nothing is missing. It’s perfect."

Outside the courtyard, Palace Master Yao lifted her head.

Back rubs?

Cai Keqing’s eyes flickered.

Shoulder massages?

Qing Yun frowned.

I am not washing his feet.

Ru Mu laughed. "I can warm your bed."

At this moment, Ru Mu seemed completely different from when she had met Lu Yin in Ninerings City. Back then, she had perfectly matched the idea of a painting entering the fray. However, at this moment, there was a hint of softness and charm to her, even while a hint of competitiveness could be sensed as well. The many people watching were entranced by her, though also helpless.

She was such a stunningly beautiful woman, but had she really come here just to serve as a bedwarming maid? Just the thought was infuriating. More importantly, Ru Mu had far too high a status to serve in such a role. Someone of her rank could never serve as a mere servant. Not even the High Seraph would treat her in such a manner.

Old Tao stared at Ru Mu for a long time. Just what was Heavenspire planning?

...

The members of the Revolt Alliance gathered in the Consciousness Domain. More and more of their members were returning to the domain.

The Consciousness Domain had fallen far after the destruction of the Qi family, but because the High Seraph supported the domain, as well as the fact that they were responsible for all the surrendered conscients, the domain was abound to eventually recover. Though, actually doing so would take a tremendous amount of time.

One day, bad news reached the Consciousness Domain.

All the conscients aboard the latest battleship to return from the Consciousness Megaverse had been captured by the Grandverse Manor's Third Boss.

This was terrible news for the Consciousness Domain, but for the Qi family, it was a complete and total disaster.

The Qi family had enjoyed two major advantages over the Revolt Alliance: first was the family’s strength. The Qi family had had three sequence powerhouses: Qi Shangjun, Qi Guan, and Qi Gong. Their presence created a foundation too strong for the Revolt Alliance to match. The second advantage was the family’s official control of surrendered conscients.

The Revolt Alliance consisted of various independent cultivators, so only the Qi family was capable of maintaining control of all the surrendered and captured conscients.

While fighting in the Consciousness Domain, Lu Yin had devoured all of those conscients. He had also captured Qi Shangjun and Qi Guan before that, which had directly led to the destruction of the Qi family. Since then, the Qi family had been waiting for another shipment of captive conscients from the Consciousness Megaverse in order to regain some of their previous influence, but unexpectedly, those captives would never arrive now.

Qi Gong spat out blood when he received the news.

The entire Qi family fell into despair.

Their hatred for the Third boss had already been carved into the very bones of the Qi family members.

"Father, the Revolt Alliance is still gathering more cultivators, but we can’t find out why," a younger member of the Qi family nervously reported to Qi Gong. The members of the Qi family no longer had any sense of security.

Qi Gong seemed to instantly age at least a decade. He waved a hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about them."

"Uncle, something’s not right. The members of the Revolt Alliance can be seen surrounding our Qi family."

"Master, I overheard some members of the Revolt Alliance talking! They said that not a single member of our Qi family will escape!" Someone else rushed in.

The final report ignited Qi Gong's fury. He stepped away from the rest of the Qi family and went to stand atop the ruins of their ancestral home to peer into the distance. "Who dares to come after my Qi family?"

Across the land of the Consciousness Domain, numerous cultivators were staring at the Qi family from every direction. All of them heard Qi Gong's challenge.

The patriarch roared, "No matter how much my Qi family may have fallen, we still rule this place by order of the High Seraph himself! Who do you think you are, Revolt Alliance? Do you think that you have the right to erase my Qi family? Get lost! All of you, get away from my Qi family! Scram!"

All the cultivators of the Revolt Alliance stared on with cold eyes. Not one person moved forward or stepped back. All of them simply stared at the Qi family.

The once glorious and prosperous Qi family had been reduced to ruins.

At the gate to the family’s territory, the broken pieces of the stone monument still stood. In the past, no one could have imagined that this monument had housed Qi Zun’s consciousness. The man had once been a peerless consciousness cultivator, but he was now gone. Even his remnant consciousness had vanished. The rest of the Qi family should follow him.

The members of the Qi family were filled with sorrow. Everything had changed too quickly for them. They could have never imagined that their family would fall to such a state.

Qi Gong sucked in a sharp breath of air while clenching his fists. His eyes grew flushed as he looked around the area.

The members of the Revolt Alliance, who previously had not even dared to meet the patriarch’s eyes, all stared at him with mocking looks now. He could even see pity in some eyes. Their expressions were intolerable for the man. He wanted to crush the Revolt Alliance and destroy the Grandverse Manor. He wanted to eradicate everyone who had harmed his Qi family.

At this moment, Daoist Fengzhi emerged from the void, also staring at Qi Gong. "Why are you so upset, Patriarch Qi? Who has offended you?"

Qi Gong shot a cold glare at Daoist Fengzhi. The man had once addressed the patriarch in a very polite tone, and he had not dared to even risk offending him. But at this moment, Daoist Fengzhi’s voice was dripping with mockery, and his eyes were looking down on Qi Gong.

Who does he think he is?

"Daoist Fengzhi," Qi Gong spoke slowly.

Daoist Fengzhi stared back at Qi Gong. "That’s me. Why are you suddenly so upset, Patriarch Qi? The Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss isn’t here, is he?"

Qi Gong’s eyes narrowed as he sneered. "The Consciousness Domain was established by Qi Zun, who was my ancestor. As long as this Consciousness Domain endures, it will belong to my Qi family. We are the ones favored by the High Seraph. He will continue to support us. What of you? Even if my Qi family falls, worthless trash like you is too pathetic to look down on us."

Daoist Fengzhi's face fell. "Is that so? In that case, what if your Qi family loses the High Seraph's favor?"

Qi Gong reacted as though he had just heard the funniest joke in existence. "Who do you think you are? Do you think that you can change the High Seraph's mind? Not even Shi Lin would dare to say something so ridiculous. Just wait. I will make you suffer in the Ascendant Hall."

Bloodlust blossomed in Daoist Fengzhi's eyes.

At this moment, Shi Lin arrived, and he stared at Qi Gong with frigid eyes. "I didn't expect you to be the one who stole the White Willow, Qi Gong."

The patriarch was stunned.

Every last member of the Qi family was dumbfounded.

What? Stole the White Willow? Qi Gong? How could that be?

The Qi family immediately erupted in rage.

"Shi Lin, that’s utter nonsense!"

"If you want to deal with our Qi family, then you should come up with a better excuse than that! Just because our family has fallen on hard times, that doesn’t mean that you can slander us!"

"Ridiculous! What a joke! Our patriarch stole the White Willow?"

"Bullshit..."

Countless people from the Qi family shouted and swore at Shi Lin, even as many members of the Revolt Alliance moved to surround the family.

Shi Lin just ignored the various insults, focusing solely on Qi Gong.

The man had initially doubted what he had been told, but the moment he made the accusation, Qi Gong’s reaction had confirmed it as true. As soon as Shi Lin spoke, panic had appeared in Qi Gong’s eyes. It was unmistakable.

Qi Gong glared at Shi Lin with his bloodshot eyes. "This is ridiculous!

I

stole the White Willow? What evidence do you have?"

Shi Lin shook his head. "The Phantom Reach has already verified that you are the culprit. On top of that, you stole the White Willow at Sage Qian’s orders."

Qi Gong roared. "How dare you slander me! Why would I steal the White Willow? What possible benefit would I gain?"

"We don’t know your motives yet, but it is still a fact that you stole the tree. The Phantom Reach would not dare to deceive the Consciousness Domain about something like this, or else they would be guaranteed to suffer the High Seraph’s punishment. Why did Sage Qian order you to steal the White Willow? On top of that, why did you agree to do so? Who is behind Sage Qian? What was the purpose of this? We will continue to investigate, and we will find out everything.

"I want you to follow me to the Ascendant Hall."