Chapter 104 - Monsters Rise (Part III) (Patreon)

Moments before Lucian and Elder Black Scale began their battle, an invisible barrier unfolded around a mansion near the noble district’s wall, sealing off the entrance and preventing outsiders from seeing or hearing what was happening inside.

It was the West Bo Merchant Chamber’s mansion. The estate had been isolated because of the growing riots spreading throughout the city. There, inside the Chairman’s office, Grandmaster Miao narrowed his triangular eyes while the serpent tattoo upon his forehead shifted.

“Are you certain it was him?” Bo Qing’s voice echoed directly into Grandmaster Miao’s ears, even though no one else was physically present in the room with the cultivator.

Through a Qi line, Grandmaster Miao answered.

“Who else would act so rampantly?” he replied with a chuckle, in a good mood. “Now, the Tidal Church will hunt him down to the underworld if necessary.”

He had wanted Lucian to reveal his true strength and had arranged for spies to monitor any attempts to rescue Little Crab or Wang Chen. Even though he didn't know what to expect, he wasn’t surprised when Lucian didn’t follow the script. What caught him off guard was the scale of the chaos unfolding tonight. It greatly exceeded his expectations and reinforced a theory he already held.

“For him to resort to such methods, he cannot possibly be at the Core Formation realm,” Grandmaster Miao said with a smile. “At best, he must be a heavily wounded Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

Bo Qing hummed thoughtfully before asking, “Should I continue hiding, or can I return to the mansion after all this?”

“Remain there a little longer,” Grandmaster Miao said immediately. “He doesn’t care about using mortals, and you were affected by his demonic technique, so we don’t know what he can do if he’s close to you. I sent a message to an old friend to come here and search his soul, so enjoy the food there and rest a bit.”

Sighing heavily, Bo Qing sounded genuinely distressed.

“I do not regret accepting his deal, honestly,” he said. “But hiding like this and being unable to enjoy life feels too miserable.”

“Be patient, Brother Bo.” Grandmaster Miao sighed with helpless amusement. “I will settle everything before next month. He wanted to make a fool of us, so now he will suffer.”

During their conversation, dozens of Qi threads suddenly attempted to transmit messages toward Grandmaster Miao simultaneously, causing his expression to freeze. Alarmed by the sheer number of servants urgently trying to contact him at once, he allowed the first message through and abruptly stood from his seat, his eyes widening.

“Brother Miao?” Bo Qing noticed the silence immediately.

“Brother... Brother Bo...” Grandmaster Miao muttered, his eyes shaking violently. “He died.”

“Who?” Bo Qing asked, laughing uneasily. “My son Bo Xian? Please don’t tell me your countermeasures failed, and I lost—”

“Your cousin.” Grandmaster Miao interrupted. “Bo Huang is dead.”

For several moments, neither man spoke. Grandmaster Miao could easily imagine the scene unfolding inside Bo Qing’s hidden refuge. After waiting briefly, he said, “We must act immediately.”

“Did you not say Bo Huang could survive even if you attacked him directly?” Bo Qing asked, ignoring the last sentence. “What about his life-saving artifacts?”

“He had a bunch of those,” Grandmaster Miao said. He was simultaneously sending orders through various Qi threads. “He possessed at least one quasi-Foundation Establishment defensive artifact, but more importantly, he also carried a teleportation artifact crafted by the Falling Stars Palace. Killing him should be impossible.”

“And he still died,” Bo Qing said in a somber tone. “I need to ask you, Miao Long. Are you certain of this?”

Hearing Bo Qing address him by his name caused Grandmaster Miao to flinch slightly before he answered. “It has already been confirmed. He is dead, his family is fleeing, and voices are resting the blame upon the Tidal Church. ”

Another silence followed. Then, Bo Qing sighed, “We both know that is not the truth.”

“Remain hidden,” Grandmaster Miao said while he commanded servants throughout the mansion to evacuate and transport the valuables to multiple secure locations. “Your son has handed us a gift we cannot refuse.”

With regret, Bo Qing muttered, “A gift we could not afford to receive either.”

His cousin’s death saddened him, though only because events had not unfolded according to his original plans.

Given the timing of everything and the major force currently carrying the blame, it was painfully obvious that once tonight ended, the West Bo Merchant Chamber would emerge as the greatest beneficiary.

Nobody would care if the Merchant Chamber’s warehouses were looted or if the shops under its control were burned to the ground.

When morning arrived, and news spread that Bo Huang had died, everyone would assume it had been a joint move of the West Bo Merchant Chamber and the Tidal Church.

And because of the public outrage, the City Council would be forced to punish the involved parties. When matters truly escalated to that point, Bo Qing knew his Merchant Chamber would suffer far less than the Tidal Church. After all, the church was a political force more than an economic one, so it possessed far more enemies.

But if he and Grandmaster Miao could arrive at such conclusions, so could the other major forces. They both knew the Tidal Church would come knocking on their doors!

Grandmaster Miao suddenly sensed a wave of Qi rushing toward the manor. His eyes glowed with a cyan hue as he severed every Qi line connected to him, except for a single thread.

“Brother Bo,” he said while creating new Qi lines. “See—”

“Shut up, Miao Long,” Bo Qing interrupted coldly. “Do what you must do.”

Pausing briefly, Grandmaster Miao continued, “See you after the bloodbath.”

With those words, he disconnected the final invisible Qi line and unleashed his Quasi-Core Formation aura.

Hundreds of runes burst outward around him as the mansion walls trembled beneath the pressure.

Each rune was connected to numerous Qi lines, pulsing and transmitting Qi through them. Grandmaster Miao’s consciousness spread as his senses expanded far beyond the mansion's grounds.

The serpent tattoo on his forehead shifted, slithering beneath his skin and reaching his back beneath the robe, where other beasts’ tattoos were hidden. Then, feeling the approaching waves of Qi, Grandmaster Miao accelerated the circulation within his Dantian and expanded his semi-domain.

While a true Core Formation domain could suppress certain Qi types while enhancing one’s authority over compatible elements, a semi-domain instead granted empowerment over those elements.

In other words, whereas a Core Formation cultivator possessed minor authority over Qi and elemental forces, Grandmaster Miao had grasped a glimpse of such authority.

As the approaching Qi waves stopped near the mansion's gates, green and blue light expanded from inside, pressing against the floors, walls, and ceilings alike. Then, the wooden doors shattered, and the stone walls cracked, sections of the upper floors collapsing under the pressure.

With a cold expression, Grandmaster Miao raised his head, and he shouted. “You are courting death!” 

Golden light flooded the mansion as a devastating sound wave destroyed the estate, the gardens, the nearby streets, and neighboring houses.

It was all too quick.

Grandmaster Miao protected himself with a cocoon made of countless Qi lines. He slowly descended toward the ground amidst the golden radiance, and when he reached the ground, the cocoon burst apart, dispersing the surrounding golden Qi.

Then, with a cold gaze, he stepped onto the shattered ground below and stared ahead.

About two streets away, floating above the debris, stood Grand Elder Vermilion Tide.

Golden Qi still lingered around her body from the previous attack, while Elders White Scale and Yellow Scale floated behind her, carried by Qi claws invisible to ordinary sight.

With a murderous gaze, Grandmaster Miao said, “Second Concubine, you are lacking manners.”

Staring coldly back at him, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide spoke loudly, spreading her voice with Qi throughout the district.

“Demonic Cultivator Miao Long,” she said slowly, “with the City Lord’s permission, I am here to bring justice to the innocents who died under your schemes.”

“Pretty words,” Grandmaster Miao said, his hissing tone infused with Qi. “You can’t just point to a deer and call it a horse, hoping for people to believe you.”

Shaking her head, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide sneered.

“Don’t insult our citizens! You orchestrated this ploy to kill Chairman Bo Huang,” she sighed. “The city mourns the loss of such an outstanding businessman.”

Observing how she empowered her voice to travel across the entire district, Grandmaster Miao restrained his killing intent, frowning.

“Are you speaking as a member of the City Council,” Grandmaster Miao asked, “or as the leader of the Tidal Church?”

Taking a moment before answering, she said, “I am here under the City Lord’s permission.”

“This means shi—”

Grandmaster Miao stopped as the images of a Winged Lion and a Jade Clam flashed behind the two Tidal Church Elders, sealing the surroundings and suppressing the spreading Qi.

It appeared Grand Elder Vermilion Tide had grown tired of speaking.

Scoffing, Grandmaster Miao said, “So these two flower vases do have some use after all.”

“Tell me where Bo Qing is,” Grand Elder Vermilion Tide said, glancing at the ruins of the mansion. “Do that, and you may still leave this city in one piece.”

“I am honored by the offer,” Grandmaster Miao replied with a faint smile. “But you see, I like this city quite a lot. And staying beside Brother Bo makes me appear more handsome and intelligent. I rather enjoy that as well.”

Frowning at the unexpected jest, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide spread her investigative technique through the surroundings, searching for traps.

“I am giving you a way out, Miao Long,” she said while her Quasi-Core Formation aura expanded fully. “Do not force me.”

Ignoring her warning, Grandmaster Miao turned his gaze toward the Feathered Serpent Castle.

“Kun Fei Xing,” he called loudly, “if your concubine does not behave, this place will be renamed Two Feathers City.”

Despite the shifts between coldness, mockery, and arrogance in his tone, Grandmaster Miao was not insane.

He was probing.

He needed to know whether fighting Grand Elder Vermilion Tide would provoke the City Lord personally, so even such seemingly foolish words served a purpose. Also, he was buying time for his semi-domain to spread and for his killing technique to fully unfold, whether for battle or escape.

At the same time, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide waited anxiously for a reaction from the Feathered Serpent Castle, her heart pounding violently in her chest.

Both of them carried expectations regarding what would happen next.

Alas, one of them was destined for disappointment.

Several seconds passed, and no response came from the castle.

Grandmaster Miao’s faint smile vanished, his eyes turning apathetic, without even a hint of light in them.

Meanwhile, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide trembled slightly as shame and fury surged through her heart.

“Do not worry, Second Concubine,” Grandmaster Miao said while his killing intent surged. “I am well known for leaving my enemies’ bodies intact.”

Unable to contain her anger any longer, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide roared. Golden scales spread across her skin while two horns emerged from her forehead.

“Miao Long!” she screamed, her voice sounding like claws scraping against stone.

As her roar spread outward, the clouds above turned golden, and drops of golden rain began to fall around the ruined district.

“Little halfling,” Grandmaster Miao hissed back, invisible Qi colliding against the golden rain and forcing the droplets upward. “Allow me to teach you how to write the word death.”

His hissing voice echoed, gathering in dozens of points where cyan images of gigantic marine beasts phased into existence, their dead eyes and sluggish movements making them resemble corpses drifting in the deepest parts of the ocean.

“Cyan Sea Swallows the Shore,” Grandmaster Miao muttered as his semi-domain fused with the killing technique.

Elder Yellow Scale and Elder White Scale trembled violently, no longer able to seal the sound and Qi from spreading into the surroundings. Feeling the unleashed semi-domain, both knelt beneath the pressure, desperately circulating their Qi to avoid losing consciousness.

Grand Elder Vermilion Tide conjured a golden spear and slashed through the pressure as though it were a tangible object.

Staring upward at the floating, horned Grand Elder Vermilion Tide, Grandmaster Miao said, “I hope you enjoy your new friends.”

The air shimmered as the Qi lines connected to the phantom beasts trembled. Then, every marine beast ceased moving and turned their dead gaze toward the trio from the Tidal Church.

Sensing the incoming danger, Grand Elder Vermilion Tide used her Qi to shove the two elders backward, sending them flying several streets away. After that, she unleashed a killing move of her own.

The falling golden droplets converged into the spear while the image of the horned golden serpent manifested behind her, its mouth wide open.

She spanned her spear, and the image inhaled the golden droplets and nearby clouds. Then, she thrust the spear downward, and the phantom serpent breathed golden flames.

Grandmaster Miao directed the marine beasts forward through the cyan Qi lines, as cyan scales surged inches from his body to protect him, floating like small shields.

With cold eyes, both of them watched in silence as their techniques collided.