Chapter 517 - The Culprit
Chapter 517: The Culprit
“Master Ou, as long as you work with us whole-heartedly, you won’t suffer any loss.” Feng Yiyuan raised his eyebrows and spoke arrogantly.
He was not a shallow person and could be considered cunning. If that was not the case, he could not have fooled Peng Huachi and Nian Xinran so easily, causing them to be severely injured during the fight against the spirit beast.
Nonetheless, the one that dealt with Ou Yangming was a sir from his sect in the upper realm.
The sir was a potent figure, whereas Feng Yiyuan was an insignificant little ant as compared to him.
No matter what, Feng Yiyuan must not ruin the sir’s reputation at all. Even if he knew Ou Yangming’s spirit beasts could kill him at any time, he must act like this to suppress the young fellow.
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth. He wanted to hold his belly and laugh out loud, but he became unbothered after having experienced so much lately.
He put down the box and said, “Senior Feng, your words don’t mean anything, so you better discuss with…” He looked up and pointed at the box.
“You!” Feng Yiyuan’s face changed as he was infuriated, but he vaguely had a bad feeling about this.
The fact that Ou Yangming was being so unyielding had really exceeded his expectations. He thought, ‘After being lectured by sir, shouldn’t he be an obedient yes-man?’
Ou Yangming flashed and left quietly. He did not take swift steps but every step he took was somewhat leaving a giant rock on Feng Yiyuan’s heart, so much so that the great ancestor found it hard to catch his breath.
Once Ou Yangming was far away, Feng Yiyuan pondered for a brief moment before he waved his hand to gesture to his servants to leave. Following that, he opened the jade box in the quiet and empty room.
Feng Yiyuan was relieved when he saw that the jade pendant was in one piece.
Perhaps Ou Yangming pressured him so much that he misjudged the situation.
Nevertheless, a faint black smoke suddenly rose from the black jade pendant, then an illusory figure floated in the air.
Feng Yiyuan was stunned, but he was overjoyed after he saw the figure’s face. This was because the figure looked exactly the same as the portrait he worshipped in the secret realm.
“Sir!”
The figure slowly took form and was dazed for a while, but his eyes soon became lively. Afterward, he lowered his head and looked at Feng Yiyuan as though he was deep in thought.
Feng Yiyuan waited quietly for some time. When he recalled Ou Yangming’s strange look before he left, he could not help but ask, “Sir, have you met Ou Yangming?”
The figure finally responded as if he was attracted to what Feng Yiyuan said. He released an incredibly fearsome aura in a flash, and the aura was so menacing that it was stronger than what went against Ou Yangming earlier.
Feng Yiyuan’s knees became jelly, and he involuntarily fell on his knees.
Under such a powerful force, not to mention that Feng Yiyuan already revered and feared the figure, even if a stranger released something similar, he could not have resisted at all.
Ou Yangming could only endure it and made Zhiming the Venerable One change his attitude because of the little red bird.
No other person in the world possessed such a formidable creature.
“Hmph, you thrash! Why did you offend that person!” Zhiming the Venerable One reprimanded Feng Yiyuan hatefully with a fierce look.
He had tried to gain an advantage by coming to the lower realm but ended up worse off. Not only did he fail to accomplish anything but most importantly, he seemed to have provoked that being.
When Zhiming the Venerable One thought about the merciless means of the beings from that race, he felt like running into a wall. This was why he was so furious when he saw Feng Yiyuan, who was the culprit, and he almost wanted to pull out the tendons and peel the skin of that great ancestor.
Feng Yiyuan lay prostrate and uttered with fear, “Sir, please calm down, please calm down!”
The figure of Zhiming the Venerable One stared at him, and the frightening aura brewed from the figure’s intense negative emotions was suppressing him so badly that he could almost not breathe.
After some time, the aura in the room slowly went away. Zhiming the Venerable one spoke coldly, “Go and apologize to them! If they’re not satisfied, I’ll descend to the lower realm and turn you into dust!”
Feng Yiyuan quivered. He looked at the Venerable One in disbelief, and he was extremely dazed.
‘Didn’t the Venerable One say he’ll talk to Ou Yangming? Why did his attitude change drastically after their talk?’
The great ancestor felt hopeless after witnessing Ou Yangming’s performance in this realm, but he did not think the young fellow’s cultivation base would be useful in the upper realm. After all, Spirit Grade powerhouses did not mean much in the upper realm. As compared to Venerable Ones that could transfer energy between realms, Ou Yangming was too insignificant.
Despite that, there was indeed a change now, but Feng Yiyuan did not expect Zhiming the Venerable One to change instead of Ou Yangming.
“S-sir, we’ll apologize to them?” Feng Yiyuan asked word by word. At this point, he could sense a bitterness in his mouth.
“Yes, apologize to him and get rid of any negative image. I allow you to pay any price for it, so don’t hesitate to lose the entire Feng family if it’s needed!” Zhiming the Venerable One noted coldly.
Feng Yiyuan’s lips trembled, and he felt hopeless.
‘What does that mean? Lose the entire Feng family? Will the foundation of a millennium still belong to the Feng family?’
No matter what Feng Yiyuan thought, he dared not say a word.
The figure of Zhiming the Venerable One slowly disappeared, but his cold look was deeply imprinted on Feng Yiyuan’s heart. As such, the gert ancestor dared not disobey the Venerable One at all.
It was worth noting that the Feng family spent a millennium to build their foundation in this realm, and it was considered a profound foundation. As lost as it was possible, Zhiming the Venerable One would not be willing to abandon it at all. Having said that, as compared to their long-established foundation in the upper realm, their foundation in the lower realm did not mean much.
One was the pain of cutting one’s body while one was complete annihilation. As long as one was normal, one would know what to choose.
The power represented by the Phoenixes could not be resisted by the Feng family or the sect they were in. In order to calm the little red bird, Zhiming the Venerable One decided to cut their loss quickly.
As for Feng Yiyuan’s thoughts, they were not part of his consideration at all.
“Pow…”
The jade box closed by itself once the figure disappeared from the jade pendant.
Feng Yiyuan slumped to the ground as if his spine was removed; he no longer had any strength left. The great ancestor stared blankly at the jade box and felt like a clown when he recalled his last conversation with Ou Yangming.
He hoped that he had really turned into a clown that would be ridiculed by Ou Yangming. Even though he would be enraged, he could withstand it. On the other hand, Feng Yiyuan did not know how Zhiming the Venerable One would do to him if he failed to get Ou Yangming’s forgiveness. Needless to say, he was sure that he would not end well.
After a long time, Feng Yiyuan finally regained some strength. He forced himself to get up and picked up the jade box before he staggered away from the teahouse.
Given his cultivation base and how familiar he was with the sentries around, he did not alarm anyone when he left.
He was walking unsteadily at first, but he became more stable after he sped up.
The pressure and distress caused by Zhiming the Venerable One slowly disappeared. Of course, Feng Yiyuan would not complain about this because he knew very well the disparity between him and the Venerable One.
He returned to his residence after a short while, then he gathered several fellows after some thought.
Before long, Xiao Hualing and Zhong Fengcai—his hardcore followers—arrived.
“Brother Feng, seeing as you came back so quickly, do you have good news?” Zhong Fengcai asked excitedly.
Feng Yiyuan had purposely told them that the sir from the upper realm was coming because he wanted to boost their confidence. Although the sir had not come in person and only came in the form of a projection, it could leave most of the powerhouses from this world in awe.
At the very least, Zhong Fengcai and Xiao Hualing revered the sir very much, and they subconsciously thought Ou Yangming had given in.
“I do have news. Would you like to hear it?” Feng Yiyuang looked strangely at them.
“What?” Zhong Fengcai and Xiao Hualing looked at each other. They vaguely sensed something unordinary.
Feng Yiyuan said, “I’ve decided that the Feng family will follow Master Ou’s lead as long as he’s in this world.”
“Huh!”
“Huh?”
His closest comrades exclaimed differently and looked at him. They had such strange looks on their faces as if they mistook him for someone else.
Feng Yiyuan flushed after being stared at like that, but he gritted his teeth and added, “I’ve made up my mind. Will you join me this time or…”
Xiao Hualing blurted after he fell silent for some time, “Brother Feng, did sir’s projection not come to the lower realm?”
“He… Came.” Feng Yiyuan smiled bitterly.
“Since he did, why are you doing this?” Zhong Fengcai was mad. “Is that sir’s order?”
“Yes,” Feng Yiyuan uttered coldly.
“It’s sir’s order… Uh, what? What did you say?” Before Zhong Fengcai could continue his long speech, he was dumbfounded and slowly looked afraid.
Feng Yiyuan’s face darkened as though it was black with a touch of red. He stated, “Sir ordered us to follow Master Ou. Those who disobey him will be punished by natural disasters, and our families will be eliminated.”
Xiao Hualing and Zhong Fengcai were stupefied for a long time. They felt chills creeping up their bodies, and they could not help but shiver.