Chapter 1038: Devilsky Seven
The Burnished Golden Ant had been more or less cut in half by Wu Yu, and completely destroyed. The remaining portion was a sturdy metal that could definitely be used as a precious treasure, even though it did not have spiritual marks. It could make excellent dao treasures, at least of advanced dao treasure level.
The material was not super precious, but there was a lot of it.
Therefore, Wu Yu put the corpse of the Burnished Golden Ant in his Sumeru Pouch and then returned to the Seven Stars Fortifying Design.
After they returned, all six looked at Wu Yu strangely. The Full Moon of Nanshan teased, "How heartless of you. You mistreated such a cute ant."
"The next time we meet one, can you go hug it to death, then?" Wu Yu countered, and they all laughed.
Just as they were laughing, Qu Fengyu cut in snootily, sniffing in disapproval.
"Wu Yu, our mission this time is to support the Prince in obtaining the Yan Huang Golden Bead. Everything is for the Prince. The corpse that you just took should be given to the Prince...."
That was awkward.
If it had been an ordinary relationship of prince and subordinate, any treasures from a bodyguard should definitely be handed over to the prince. That was proper.
But the relationship between Wu Yu and Prince Le was not like that. Even though Qu Fengyu thought it was so.
This woman was a real pain in the neck.
Although Wu Yu and Prince Le had never discussed it, it was a tacit agreement that Prince Le would not ask for those spoils.
Therefore, he immediately got angry and berated Qu Fengyu. "Can you shut your mouth? Wu Yu earned it himself. His spoils are rightly deserved."
"Yes, my Prince. I spoke too much." Qu Fengyu got on her knees, her tears streaming.
Wu Yu was not sure how to deal with this situation. There was a gap between him and Prince Le, and Prince Le knew that he could not control Wu Yu. But as aware as he was, he would definitely not show it. And he would not act like Qu Fengyu and force Wu Yu to be like the others and bow before him.
"Get up, and don't make life difficult for them anymore. We are all here together. Stop fighting amongst yourselves," Prince Le said.
This useless drama would only exacerbate the awkwardness of the relationship between Wu Yu and Prince Le. This was inevitable. And so Wu Yu's way of dealing with it was to avoid such drama in the first place. He had been ordered by the Ancient Emperor to serve as Kingmaker Le. The saying went: one must lower one's head under the eaves. Therefore, he had to stand with Prince Le on the same side, but this was not his wish for the future.
"Let's press on. The Yan Huang Golden Bead is key," Wu Yu said, unconcerned. As for Qu Fengyu, they had gotten off to a bad start since the Taigu Immortal Path, and Wu Yu could not be bothered with her. After all, they were on completely different levels now.
Perhaps she felt bitter now because she was stronger than Wu Yu back then.
After dealing with the Burnished Golden Ant, Wu Yu again moved the Seven Stars Fortifying Design forward. He was of course using his Eyes of Fire and Gold to scan ahead, searching for the golden light - the Yan Huang Golden Bead.
Everyone was focused on the Yan Huang Golden Bead.
But just as they were about to move on, Wu Yu suddenly saw seven figures surround them from all sides!
Such a formation meant that they had not just arrived on the scene, but had been lying in wait for a while. Perhaps they were waiting for Wu Yu to defeat the Burnished Golden Ant before swarming in.
This also meant that they might have been attracted here by the battle between Wu Yu and the Burnished Golden Ant. After all, the wind here was strong enough to hide many battles, but they would still see it if they were nearby.
Wu Yu's eyes swept across these seven. He realized that some were more low-key, others more open about it, but they were all ghostly cultivators. Also, they were pure ghostly cultivators - a purity that was completely different from Ye Xixi's purity. They were mainstream ghostly cultivators from the Jambu Realm. While they might not have that many cruel techniques, the Ghostly Yan Tribe could not hold a candle to them in terms of cruelty alone.
Although Wu Yu had not welcomed them to the City of 10,000 Kingdoms, he recalled seeing them at the Windy Fiery Skies Platform.
From their expressions and manner, they had not come in peace. It was the first type of danger that Wu Yu had foreseen - hatred and jealousy from the rest of the Jambu Realm.
They not only outnumbered them, but also posed a threat. And the biggest headache for Wu Yu was that he had four deadweights with him that could not enter the fight, while the opponents could move freely in the desert. That mobility was in itself strength.
Prince Le and Wu Yu shared a look. They had both grasped the danger here. This would be a harder fight than the Burnished Golden Ant. They had definitely recognized Wu Yu, and knew that Prince Le had to be here as well. They could not hide.
Besides, surrounding them was a clear sign of hostility.
Amongst their group, there were two guys who were right in front of Wu Yu. Actually, all seven were guys, of about the same age. They had probably been cultivating for about 200 years. Considering the approximately 600-year lifespan of the Dao Querying Realm, they were roughly equivalent to mortals of 30 years old. As youths in their prime with another 200 to 300 years of cultivation before them, they could also be considered the new generation of the Jambu Realm.
Actually, most who had entered the Ancient Soul Tower were about this age. And the fact that they had come to the 10,000 Kingdoms Pilgrimage meant that they were the elites for their age.
The two guys before Wu Yu, from the threat level they posed, had probably passed the first dao crisis, Heaven's Thunder, and reached the fourth tier of the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm. They were the strongest out of the seven, and comparable to the Stygian Devils Blood Poisoner and Midnight Specter that Wu Yu had encountered before. And they were ghostly cultivators.
The other five should be at the third tier of the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm. The strength of this group was rather even.
The two before him were definitely the leaders. They were dressed up completely differently. On the left, the guy had a wild head of black hair and dull, red eyes. Bloodthirst and savagery exuded from him, as though he were a beast consumed by it. He wore a suit of armor and metal boots that looked seamless in their defensive abilities. They were covered in sharp spikes that resembled a beast's fangs. At the elbows and knees, sharp, blade-like spikes protruded, and rotting flesh and blood clung to them.
This armor was probably an advanced dao treasure.
The other one was dressed more simply. White clothes lightly moving with the breeze, he was handsome, and ordinary people might not be able to tell that this person was a ghostly cultivator. His features were considered very handsome, his only flaw being his slightly squinty eyes, which gave him a petty look.
The other five were dressed well also. The ghostly qi was strong about them, and they looked more like ghostly cultivators. But given their cultivation age, they looked more like youths.
They had surrounded Wu Yu's own seven. Some had grim faces, others were smiling as though they had lucked out. They seemed to have the situation well under control.
"Devilsky Court, Devilsky Tribe?" Prince Le faced the seven, friendly and civil.
Wu Yu's guess had not been off. His impression had been the Devilsky Court.
The white-clothed guy laughed coyly. "Prince Le has a good eye. You immediately knew who we were. We had thought to keep our identities from the Prince. Since that's the case, we won't hide them. The famous Devilsky Seven from the Devilsky Court - that's us. This humble creature is called Golden Revel, and my father is a White Demon Aide in the Devilsky Court." The White Demon Aide was a high position in Devilsky Court, and commanded a few armies. This Golden Revel was probably a similarly eminent person in the Devilsky Court.
"And I am Black Blade of the Valley, the son of the Black Demon Aide!" the savage-looking one said in a merciless tone.
They had even revealed their names. It was not a good sign, given that they were still surrounded. This showed that they were remorseless and unafraid of retribution.
Golden Revel and Black Blade of the Valley. These were names from the Devilsky Court.
The other five all gave their names as well. They were basically all sons of ministers and aristocrats in the Devilsky Court's Devil's Capital. They had probably been together since young, and hence were dubbed the Devilsky Seven.
The other five were called: Xiaolin Youji, Taidao Liaosheng, Shouye Jianyu, Quan Taiyue, Jinqi Mengjing.
"I have heard of them. They're the sons of the royalty in the Devilsky Court, and one of the most famous groups. They are notorious tyrants in the Devil's Capital, and they are the terror of the Devilsky Tribe in the Devil's Capital. But their elders have given them free reign and now they're the most boorish lot in the Devilsky Tribe. It's said they are capable of any evil, including killing the innocent, rape, and plunder. They stop at nothing...."
Qu Fengyu had panicked upon seeing this group of people. She again hid, her face pale as she babbled to the others.
Of course, their opponents had heard it as well. Golden Revel was startled. "Beautiful lady, do not speak nonsense. Those are treacherous lies, aimed to besmirch us brothers. We seven are highly respected in the Devilsky Tribe, and are doing good deeds wherever we go."
Prince Le was not swayed. "And so, surrounding us is another one of your good deeds?"