Huang Xiaolong watched Feng Qi, Chen Bin, and the others leave, then stepped back into the cultivation room.
“Your Majesty, letting Chen Bin go will be a loose end; he definitely would come looking for payback and investigate Your Majesty’s identity,” said the Scarlet Flame Dark Qilin.
“Let them investigate then.” Huang Xiaolong was nonchalant about it. In truth, he was afraid that they wouldn't investigate him, hmph.
In the cultivation room, Huang Xiaolong once again sat cross-legged at the formation array’s center. An afterthought later, he took out his communication talisman and contacted Desolate Giant Tai Yue, ordering him to release a piece of news.
Lu Kun colluded with the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe to usurp the Nether King's throne. He has betrayed the Netherworld King's Organisation. Due to this, he is expelled from the Netherworld King's Organisation from today onwards and is no longer one of the Netherworld King's Organisation's Great Commanders.
This was the news Huang Xiaolong ordered Tai Yue and the other eight Great Commanders to release.
Although Huang Xiaolong had long known that Lu Kun was in cahoots with the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe, he had not taken any action towards Lu Kun until now. He had drawn a clear line between the Netherworld King’s Organisation and Lu Kun.
Additionally, Huang Xiaolong also ordered the nine Great Commanders to issue a task. This task stated that the person who would kill Lu Kun would receive a ten million low-grade chaos spirit stones reward! Bring Lu Kun’s head to him to collect the prize.
Huang Xiaolong believed that ten million low-grade chaos spirit stones were sufficient to tempt many super forces.
Once this task was issued, he believed that the Netherworld King’s Organisation’s Senior and Junior Commanders who were planning to betray the Netherworld King’s Organisation and follow Lu Kun would think twice.
The most critical part of this was whether it was worth following Lu Kun and betraying the Netherworld King’s Organisation at the end of the day.
After issuing his orders, Huang Xiaolong took out three hundred Brilliant Sun Divine Pills and continued cultivating.
After killing the red-faced old man Gao Ning and the traitor Junior Commander He Xin, Huang Xiaolong’s identity was already exposed. He didn’t know whether that Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s Old Ancestor Shi Ming would rush over to the Death Tomb City to kill him or not, but he could not linger in Death Tomb City. He only had a month at most.
Roughly a month later, he would leave the Death Tomb City regardless of whether Tai Yue could identify the grandmist aura or confirm Fang Mingyu’s location.
At this time, Feng Qi and the rest of his group left the black mountain and dashed towards the Death Tomb City’s City Lord Mansion.
“His mother, I’ll order the surrounding planes’ Immortal Hall’s experts to gather here. That bast*rd, I’ll make him kneel in front of me, begging for his life!” Chen Bin’s face was warped with anger. As the Immortal Hall’s third young lord, never had he been so humiliated.
Feng Qi’s eyes gleamed as he thought of something and turned to say to the second steward, “Steward Yang, have people identified that kid.”
Yang Ruitian moved his lips as he hesitated in how to respond.
“Steward Yang, just say what you want to say.” Seeing his reaction, Feng Qi stated.
Yang Ruitian spoke, “Frankly, a few days back, the Nine Yin Gian Corpse Tribe’s Ancestor Gao Ning, and the Netherworld King’s Organisation’s Junior Commander He Xin were killed. Their bodies were hung on our Death Tomb City’s city gates.”
Everyone was stunned for a second and were agape with astonishment.
"What, Gao Ning? The late-Tenth Order Emperor Realm Gao Ning?" Feng Qi exclaimed in a highpitch voice with apparent disbelief.
Yang Ruitian nodded and went on, "That is so. Moreover, their bodies were personally hung on the city gates by the Netherworld King’s Organisation’s Senior Commander Zhang Long and Ma Ruilai. This incident happened ten days back.”
The third steward Yu Jifei chimed in, “Their bodies were still hung on the city gates two days back. Later, a Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s expert risked his life to take away their bodies.”
The dots connected in Chen Bin and the others’ minds. No wonder they hadn’t seen any corpses above the city gates when they returned.
“Who killed them? Zhang Long and Ma Lairui?” Chen Bin asked with a doubtful expression. Logically speaking, Zhang Long and Ma Lairui couldn’t have had the strength to kill Gao Ning.
“Not Zhang Long and Ma Lairui.” Yang Ruitian shook his head, and his voice grew solemn as never before, “However, rumors are circulating that the Nether King has come to the Death Tomb City.”
“What?!”
“His Majesty, the Nether King!”
Feng Qi, Chen Bin, and the others paled with apprehension.
“Gao Ning and He Xin were killed by His Majesty, the Nether King? But, why did he kill He Xin?” Wang Qingying of the Black Butterfly Race stammered, and the others noticed her hands shaking.
“I’ve heard it was because He Xin betrayed the Netherworld King’s Organisation by colluding with the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe. He wanted to capture the Netherworld King’s Organisation’s Death Tomb City Branch. Coincidentally, His Majesty, the Nether King, arrived at this time.” Yang Ruitian breathed out loudly. When speaking about the new His Majesty, the Nether King, everyone’s voice quivered unknowingly as if these five words weighed a trillion catties.
“Gao Ning and He Xin were killed ten days ago? That means His Majesty, the Nether King, arrived at Death Tomb City ten days ago?” Chen Bin’s expression looked even worse as he combed through the details. His head jerked up to look at Yang Ruitian and Yi Jifei in shock while exclaiming, “Could it be…?”
Feng Qi, Wang Qingying, and several other young lords seemed to arrive at the same thought, turning pale almost simultaneously.
The captain had mentioned earlier that that kid had come to Death Tomb City ten days ago. To top it off, he was a member of the Netherworld King’s Organisation!
Didn’t that mean?
“Yes, he’s likely to be!” Yang Ruitian affirmed but did not speak further. He dared not say more.
But everyone present knew to whom Yang Ruitian was referring.
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Feng Qi questioned as his expression became uglier by the second.
Yang Ruitian added, “At first, we did not think in this direction. Only after he showed his Netherworld King’s Organisation’s token and injured the Immortal Hall’s Ancestor Huo Li did we guess his identity.”
Everyone fell silent, recalling their arrogant attitude earlier and wanting to assemble the surrounding planes’ Immortal Hall’s experts to make that kid beg for mercy on his knees… Chen Bin shuddered, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
In the battle above the Nethersea, several hundred of the Massacring Gods Gate, Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe, and Howling Moon Wolf Race’s Emperor Realm Ancestors had fallen at the hands of the Nether King’s subordinates. That was several hundred Emperor Realm Ancestors, ah!
Even the Massacring Gods Gate’s Young Lord Song Litao and the Howling Moon Wolf Race’s Young Lord Yi Qing were killed! And also Peng Zhengfei!
The more Chen Bin thought about it, the colder his limbs felt.
Had they left the cultivation room a few breaths slower just now, they would have…!
“Younger Brother Feng Qi, I have some matters to attend to, I’ll bid my farewell here,” Chen Bin suddenly said as he cupped his fists at Feng Qi and dashed away without waiting for Feng Qi’s reply. The rest of the Immortal Hall’s disciples hurried after him.
He did not dare to remain in this Death Tomb City a second longer.
Feng Qi was rendered agape by Chen Bin’s action.
“Brother Feng Qi, I’ll take my leave here.” The Black Butterfly Race’s Wang Qingying also hastened to bid her farewell, raising her left hand to signal the other Black Butterfly Race’s experts to follow her.
Other forces also left in groups.
In a short while, everyone was gone.
“Second Young Master.” Yang Ruitian called out, seeing Feng Qi was still in a daze.
“Return to the City Lord Mansion.” Feng Qi snapped out from his daze and nudged his mount back to the City Lord Mansion.
Ten days went by.
Everything was calm and peaceful in Death Tomb City.
Huang Xiaolong was fully immersed in cultivation inside the cultivation room. People from the Immortal Hall and Death God Sect did not appear again, and Huang Xiaolong was happy to be left in peace. It looks like they had guessed his identity.
Another two days passed when Tai Yue sent a message to Huang Xiaolong.
Huang Xiaolong smiled when he read the message. The message said they had already confirmed the grandmist aura was at the Nine Yin Giant Corpse Tribe’s treasury, and the Fortune Emperor Palace’s disciple Fang Mingyu’s location had been determined. He was at the Nine Yin Plane!
[1] The catty, kati or jin (commonly in China), symbol 斤, is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries in some wet markets, street markets, and shops. One catty is 600 gram (resource: Wikipedia)