Chapter 661: Coming to Light

As the fire magic performance took place, Xia Xingchen glanced at where Yu'er was located. He could sense a fluctuation in the formation that bound her, but he made no move to reveal it.

The performance lasted only a short period of time, but the scenes that had filled the air were deeply imprinted in the spectators' memories.

Once everyone had settled down, Xia Xingchen began, "Thank you for coming here to celebrate my thousandth birthday. A banquet has been laid out for you; please enjoy the feast."

The guests cheered.

The banquet was held in a wide-open field atop Chiyang Peak, the largest there was. There were countless small tables dotting the field, with open seating for the guests.

Xia Xingchen's three wives were still mad at him, but that was a private affair. In front of the guests, they played their parts as gregarious hostesses to perfection.

As the guests sat down, Xia Xingchen began, "A few days ago, some prospective suitors came to Chiyang Peak to seek my daughter's hand in marriage and caused a great commotion. I'm sure many of you were present in advance and have since learned of the news. Allow me to toast you all now in hopes that you won't make fun of my daughter!"

"Haha, of course not! Holy Maiden Yu'er is a beauty we all admire. We would never laugh at her—admire her, more like!" someone replied.

Everyone smiled as they drank up.

"I've coddled my daughter far too much, it seems. On my birthday, allow me to summon her to toast you all in my stead," Xia Xingchen continued. He turned to Han Bingdie. "Bingdie, would you summon her out?"

Han Bingdie smiled at the gathered guests, but she inwardly frowned at the request. She sent her husband a mental transmission. "I know the two of you are upset with each other, but do you have to bring it up during the banquet, too?"

"Bingdie, please summon Yu'er," Xia Xingchen called out.

Han Bingdie plastered a fake smile on her face. "Alright, everyone. Please wait."

She stood up and headed toward the hall in which Yu'er was bound.

Meanwhile, Sage Green Lotus, seated nearby, blanched.

"Mountain Lord Xia, let's not make things difficult for the child. Come, allow me to toast you!" Sage Green Lotus began.

Xia Xingchen shook his head. "She's not a child any longer, but the Yuqing holy maiden instead. She is, in many respects, a representative of the Yuqing holy land. I've summoned her here so that she may gain fluency interacting with others on such occasions and so she may apologize to you, Senior Brother Green Lotus."

"Apologize to me? No, no, there's no need," Sage Green Lotus replied.

He knew that Yu'er had already been kidnapped; what would happen now? And it was all his fault, too!

"It's necessary, Senior Brother. You govern the Taiyi Peak, and any disrespect to you is disrespect to the Taiqing holy land as a whole. For Yu'er to have acted so rudely speaks poorly of me, and I insist that she apologize to you today," Xia Xingchen said resolutely.

"No, there's really no need!" Sage Green Lotus was growing more anxious by the second.

Just then, Han Bingdie cried out from afar, "Husband, Yu'er's gone missing!"

Everyone turned to a hall shrouded by a hemispherical dome, at the top of which the Eight-Treasure Glass Lock was radiating light.

"How could Yu'er have gone missing? The Eight-Treasure Glass Lock should have alerted me the moment she left its boundary. Let me have a look," Xia Xingchen said, flying over.

Many of the Yuqing Mountain Lords followed him.

After all, the prowess of the Eight-Treasure Glass Lock was widely known. How could Holy Maiden Yu'er have vanished into thin air?

"We're done for," Sage Green Lotus murmured.

The cultivators crowded around the hall, only to see that its doors were flung wide open. Han Bingdie was interrogating the Yuqing guards standing around the hall. "Where is she? How could she have vanished?"

"We don't know, either," the guards replied, bewildered.

"Bingdie, what's going on?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

"Yu'er's gone missing! Husband, come have a look!" Han Bingdie cried out.

"The Eight-Treasure Glass Lock should have been attuned to Yu'er. How could it have stopped functioning?" Xia Xingchen reached out and tapped the relic with a finger.

The relic hummed, bright light bursting forth. The faint shadow of a green lotus root could be seen.

"What? Senior Brother Green Lotus, were you responsible for this? Why would you have blocked the relic with your technique? What has happened to Yu'er?!" Xia Xingchen whirled around toward Sage Green Lotus.

Sage Green Lotus blanched. He had infused his technique with additional energy so that Long Si would have a little more time to flee. Even so, it was close to dissipating already. If no one had gone to check on Yu'er that very moment, there wouldn't have been any trace of his involvement remaining. He didn't expect that it would implicate him now.

"That is, that is..." Sage Green Lotus trailed off in panic.

A group of Mountain Lords familiar with Xia Xingchen checked the relic themselves to confirm that Sage Green Lotus was indeed responsible. They frowned.

"Senior Brother Green Lotus, where have you hidden Holy Maiden Yu'er?"

"Senior Brother Green Lotus, what have you done?!"

Those Mountain Lords were all in support of Xia Xingchen.

Xia Xingchen suddenly frowned. "Is Lord Si of the Southeastern Aquatic Palace present?"

Everyone looked around, but there was no sign of Long Si to be seen.

Xia Xingchen thundered, "Sage Green Lotus, have you conspired with Long Si to abduct my daughter?!"

"What? Sage Green Lotus, you wouldn't dare! Yu'er's a holy maiden of the Yuqing holy land. How could you have conspired with an outsider to tarnish her innocence?!" Han Bingdie exclaimed.

"I-I didn't! I—" Sage Green Lotus didn't know how to explain the situation.

Xia Xingchen flew into the air and shouted, "On order of Chiyang Peak, all Yuqing disciples are to chase after Long Si of the Southeastern Aquatic Palace. If anyone has any news, report to me immediately!"

Xia Xingchen's voice boomed across the Yuqing holy land.

Sage Green Lotus rushed forward, alarmed. "Junior Brother, why go to this extent? Weren't we..."

"Weren't we what? I don't mind entertaining marriage offers, but I do expect any suitors to stick to propriety and formality. Even if Yu'er isn't a Yuqing holy maiden, she's my daughter—the daughter of Xia Xingchen! Should I allow others to insult or demean her? Green Lotus, if anything happens to my daughter, I'll never forgive you!" Xia Xingchen howled.

Everyone turned toward Sage Green Lotus simultaneously.

Some of the Mountain Lords were aware of the hierarch's plans, and they knew that he intended for Yu'er to marry into the Southeastern Aquatic Palace. Even so, such deception was beyond the pale. A holy maiden of Yuqing, kidnapped and coerced...

If Sage Green Lotus were willing to do this to Xia Xingchen's daughter, what might he do to their families? Didn't he care about his reputation at all?

"Taiyi Mountain Lord, your actions are inexcusable."

"Taiyi Mountain Lord, how could you do something so deplorable?"

Sage Green Lotus was drowned in a storm of criticism.

He wanted to defend himself, but had no avenue with which to do so. How was he supposed to deny the evidence in plain sight?

"Green Lotus, return my daughter to me!" Han Bingdie cried out, tears in her eyes.

Upon hearing Yu'er's mother's pained cries, everyone glared at Sage Green Lotus, while the Yuqing disciples shuddered in shame at what he had done.

Just then, a voice came from afar. "Chiyang Mountain Lord, Long Si has been found by the mountain pass leading out of the Yuqing holy land!"

"Keep an eye on him. Stop him in his tracks!" Xia Xingchen roared, rushing into the air.

That Long Si had run away was further evidence for the crime that he had purportedly committed.

Xia Xingchen's three wives rushed after him, streaming toward the mountain pass like meteors. Several of the Mountain Lords and countless guests joined them.

Along the way, though Xia Xingchen seemed incensed, his gaze was surprisingly calm. He made his way to the source of the alert.

"Where's Long Si?" Xia Xingchen demanded.

"He went that way. We weren't able to stop him in time," a Yuqing disciple said, pointing into the distance.

Xia Xingchen gave chase without any hesitation.

Afar, Long Si cursed, a cloth bag to his back. "Ridiculous—I haven't even made it out of the Yuqing holy land yet! How could Sage Green Lotus have let them discover me? Damn it."

He patted the sack and smirked. "But that only makes it all the more thrilling, doesn't it? Right after the mountain up ahead, we'll hide somewhere and consummate our marriage immediately.

Then, he even cupped Zhao Yuanjiao's body via the sack.

Zhao Yuanjiao continued to attack the sack from within, but it was remarkably sturdy. Not only was he unable to deal any damage to it, it even bound him tightly like a net, conforming to the contours of his body.

He writhed a little, but, unable to free himself, sighed and stopped moving.

Suddenly, he felt a hand cupping his buttocks. He howled, "Pervert! Let me out!"

However, the cloth sack blocked all sound from within. Long Si couldn't hear his cries at all.

"It feels pretty good. I love it, haha!" Long Si laughed in satisfaction.

Just then, a palm descended from the heavens. An incensed shout could be heard from overhead. "You bastard, release my daughter!"

"What?!" Long Si exclaimed.

The palm sent him careening into the distance. Despite the fact that he was a Golden Immortal, he was all but defenseless against the heavy blow.

He stopped only after smashing through a huge mountain.

Long Si spat out a mouthful of blood as he fell to the ground, gasping at Xia Xingchen in disbelief.

"How did you find me?" Long Si exclaimed.

Plenty of cultivators caught up to him: the gathered Yuqing Mountain Lords, Xia Xingchen's three wives, and a few guests that had followed after them.

"Long Si, return my daughter to me!" Han Bingdie thundered.

Long Si blanched and tightened his grip around the cloth sack to his back.

A golden slash shot toward him. Long Si blanched and defended with a palm, but his technique shattered instantly. The sword thrust into Long Si's chest.

"No!" Long Si cried out.

He transformed into a huge ivory dragon whose chest had been impaled by a golden broadsword. He writhed and struggled to no avail.

"Keep moving and I'll kill you!" Xia Xingchen roared.

The ivory dragon Long Si shuddered in fear.

Han Bingdie seized the cloth sack and wrenched it open, breaking any inscriptions in her way.

"Yu'er, how are you?!" she shouted.

Everyone peered toward the sack only to see a black figure emerge—but rather than Xia Yu'er, they found themselves looking at Zhao Yuanjiao.

"Senior? What's going on?" Zhao Yuanjiao exclaimed, emerging from the sack.

"Yuanjiao?" Han Bingdie exclaimed in surprise.

Hadn't Long Si seized Xia Yu'er? Who was this man?

"You? How could it be you?" Long Si demanded.

He too was astounded. Hadn't he caught Xia Yu'er? How had she become Zhao Yuanjiao? Was it his butt that he had been caressing?!

Everyone was astonished, everyone save Xia Xingchen. Xia Xingchen exhaled in relief, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.