Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

He had never even considered the possibility of defeat in his duel with Ning Xuan! As for 'demise,' the word simply didn't exist in his dictionary. But now… such an outcome was absolutely unacceptable to him.

"Why… why did this happen?" he muttered, still clueless as to why he had lost. The main issue was the Palm Seal Ning Xuan had constructed. He couldn't make sense of it at all. He had clearly dominated everything, so how could Ning Xuan possibly have created such a terrifying Palm Seal, bypassing his perception?!

"I know what you want to know, but I have no obligation to tell you. As for you, however, I do have a few words of advice."

Ning Xuan's expression was calm, but to Han Chuang, these words were bound to be golden nuggets of wisdom. He immediately listened with rapt attention.

"Keep a low profile after you go down there. Don't go thinking you can take everyone you meet as a disciple, because their methods might be even stronger than yours."

Ning Xuan's words were a fatal, soul-crushing blow. It was the most powerful retort imaginable to Han Chuang's earlier arrogance.

"You… you vile…" Han Chuang was so furious he couldn't even get a complete sentence out.

But Ning Xuan knew what he was trying to say and immediately followed up, "Don't worry, I'll be just fine. Have a safe trip on the Huang Quan Road."

After speaking, Ning Xuan even waved goodbye.

PFFT!

Han Chuang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, never to rise again.

Looking at the other man's wide-open eyes, Ning Xuan shook his head and muttered softly, "Dead already? Such weak mental fortitude, and he was supposed to be the Chief Guest Elder…"

It was a good thing Han Chuang had already perished; otherwise, those words would have been another critical hit.

A search of Han Chuang's body yielded nothing. This was because the man had also opened his own spiritual space. Right before his demise, he had obliterated everything within it.

"You're a real cheapskate!" Ning Xuan was speechless.

He then looked around and called out, "Anyone else want to make a move?"

There was no answer.

"If not, I'm leaving!"

Still no reaction.

"Is the Kong Family this pathetic? They only sent a few people?" Ning Xuan murmured, quite disappointed.

It was a good thing no one from the Kong Family was present, or they would have been grinding their teeth in rage. How formidable was Han Chuang's strength? A single man like him was worth a million soldiers! With him on the case, who else would be needed?

That bastard must be doing this on purpose!

"Looks like there really is no one else. Sigh, I knew I should have brought Shangguan Qingrou along." The road was eerily quiet without a soul in sight, and Ning Xuan was starting to feel bored.

As he spoke, he mounted the back of the mystical beast.

The next moment, BOOM! RUMBLE—

The mystical beast charged forward, traversing the Two Realms Mountain as if it were flat ground. In just over a hundred breaths, Ning Xuan had reached the summit.

Looking ahead, he saw a massive complex of buildings resembling a majestic imperial city. With his keen eyesight, he could even make out the large characters on the distant city gate:

Jiang Residence!

Ning Xuan couldn't help but click his tongue in awe. Other people's residences were just that—residences. This Jiang Residence wasn't a residence at all; it was a bona fide city!

"My god! That old man told me the Jiang Family was low-key! He must have some serious misunderstanding of the word 'low-key'!" Ning Xuan grumbled before charging down from the Two Realms Mountain.

「At the same time.」

On the city walls of the Jiang Residence, an armored soldier clasped his fist in a salute to a white-robed general. "Reporting to the Head of the Courtyard, someone is riding a mystical beast and charging toward our Jiang Residence!"

"It's fine, I'll handle it. All of you, stand down." The white-robed general waved his hand, dismissing the soldiers, and moved to the very front of the wall.

"Kong Xiu, don't be reckless!" Shangguan Qingrou's voice unexpectedly came from a room behind him.

"It seems I underestimated him," Kong Xiu murmured. "To think he wasn't stopped." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a blood-red bow materialized within it. An aura of blood permeated the air, thick with the wails of malevolent spirits.

This was the Soul Suppressing Bow.

No fewer than ninety-nine powerful experts had fallen to this bow. The weakest among them had a Cultivation at the Fourth Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm. The terrifying part was that every time the Soul Suppressing Bow killed a cultivator, it would devour their blood and soul, sealing them eternally within the weapon. This process made the bow increasingly more horrifying. It wouldn't be an overstatement to call this bow the bane of all cultivators.

"Ning Xuan is truly Miss Jiang Chan's friend! He hasn't done anything to your family!"

Inside the room, the restrained Shangguan Qingrou's expression changed dramatically. She had only ever heard of Kong Xiu by name and knew he wielded the Soul Suppressing Bow. Her father had warned her more than once to never get into a conflict with Kong Xiu, his expression extremely grave each time. Back then, she thought her father was just trying to scare her. Now, feeling this oppressive aura, she finally understood his earnest intentions.

"Ning Xuan, don't come any closer! Run!" Shangguan Qingrou screamed at the top of her lungs as the thundering steps of the mystical beast grew louder.

At this moment, she was overwhelmed with guilt. Earlier, when she had arrived at the gate, she had inadvertently exaggerated Ning Xuan's plight. Before the guards could even decide to grant passage, Kong Xiu had appeared, and she was subsequently imprisoned.

The Jiang Residence was enormous; it was practically a city in its own right. In fact, the people of the Gouchen Realm Capital habitually called the Jiang Residence "Jiang City." Jiang City was divided into an Outer City and an Inner City. The Outer City housed the Protectors and other personnel. As the Head of the Courtyard in charge of maintaining order in the Outer City, Kong Xiu's authority was immense. No one would dare object if he decided to detain Shangguan Qingrou.

Outside Jiang City, Ning Xuan abruptly stopped in his tracks, an aura locking onto him.

Looking up at the white-robed general on the high city wall, he demanded, "Where is Shangguan Qingrou?!"

Shangguan Qingrou could hear the sounds from outside, but her own voice couldn't reach beyond her room. It was a unique technique of the Jiang Family. Otherwise, Ning Xuan would have already pinpointed her location from the sound of her voice.

"I don't know any Shangguan Qingrou. Who are you, and what is your purpose here?!" Kong Xiu's voice from the city wall was glacial.

"Don't play dumb, Kong!"

At Ning Xuan's words, Kong Xiu froze. His features were somewhat feminine, taking more after his mother. Because of this, even after arriving at Jiang City, many of his peers didn't realize he was the son of the richest man in the realm. How could this guy possibly know?!

"Audacious!"

Just as he was about to question Ning Xuan, he saw that the man had taken advantage of his momentary distraction to charge toward him. This was a blatant provocation!

Without a second thought, Kong Xiu roared and attacked.

WHOOSH!

An arrow pierced the air, instantly appearing before Ning Xuan. With his body already surging forward, it looked as though he was deliberately throwing himself onto the arrowhead. Both he and the arrow were moving at extreme speeds. For Ning Xuan, who was in midair, dodging this shot seemed all but impossible.

However, just then, Kong Xiu saw a dazzling light.