Celestial 'War God' Return

"The beast is a Xuanluo Beast; its form is like a large cicada, and its body is no less large than the Emerald Scale Python. However, the beast rarely comes out of the ground except for searching for food, and it is slightly calmer than the python."

"A cicada?" Tantai Yuan imagined those cicadas on Earth. "Does that beast really look like a cicada?"

"That’s true."

"Why didn’t the Emerald Scale Python attack the Xuanluo Beast? A snake and a cicada should be hostile to each other, right?"

Duanmu Jingjing shook her head. "Beasts and humans are different, Elder Tantai. Both beasts have the same cultivation, and they can live peacefully in this forest as long as they don’t disturb each other."

"Sometimes beasts are much smarter than humans."

"Not sometimes, but many beasts are much smarter than humans. Humans are the greediest and most ambitious creatures, and they never hesitate to use the dirtiest means for their success." Tantai Lingyan agreed with Duanmu Jingjing. "On the contrary, those intelligent beasts will never seek trouble with other beasts; most of them only want to survive and protect their offspring. By the way, why don’t you look for a beast contract?"

"There are no strong beasts in my home realm, and I usually fight alone. So far, only Xiao’er has a beast contract, but she is still weak."

Duanmu Jingjing tilted her head to the side. "What is Tang Xiao’s beast contract?"

"A snow leopard."

Duanmu Jingjing raised an eyebrow. "I’ve met snow leopards many times, but none of them can be truly strong."

"Xiao’er found his beast contract in the black market, and he felt a unique bond with the snow leopard, which led him to decide to buy her."

Duanmu Jingjing could understand Tang Xiao’s reasons for buying the snow leopard, but she felt that she was wasting his opportunity because the beast could never become a powerful one.

However, Dongfang Jingjing didn’t know that Tang Xiao’s contract beast was not an ordinary snow leopard but a rare winged snow leopard. Even in the Canglan Realm, there were no winged snow leopards.

Duanmu Jingjing remembered something and warned Tantai Lingyan directly. "You must be careful where you step, Elder Tantai. There are many teleportation formations in this forest, and they will send you to random locations. If you enter one and are sent to the female spider beast’s location, you will definitely die at her hands."

"I understand." Tantai Lingyan tried to contact Xiao Ai, and the female Ai told her that Tang Xiao and the others were quite far from the location of the female spider beast, which relieved her. "Are there other disciples from our sect in this forest?"

Duanmu Jingjing shook her head. "Chen Hongde’s group took that mission, so there are no other disciples of ours in this forest. Fortunately, Tang Xiao joined them; otherwise, they would have fallen into the hands of the female spider beast."

"Haha," Tantai Lingyan softly laughed. "Xiao’er decided to join them because of Shangguan Qingyue, and Elder Huangfu told him that she was too cunning. Besides, she was a possessive woman, and Shangguan Qingyin sent her to seduce him, so he was worried about Mu Qingge."

"That’s true." Duanmu Jingjing nodded in agreement. "I’ve heard some stories about Shangguan Qingyue, but I don’t know the truth."

"What has that woman done?"

"There are many stories about her, but the one that has attracted the most public attention is the story about her and the Dugu Clan from the Xuanyuan Empire Capital."

"Don’t tell me that woman seduced one of the clan members."

"That’s right," Duanmu Jingjing started narrating. "His name is Dugu Cangxu, and the Dugu Clan is one of the most renowned clans in the Xuanyuan Empire Capital. Shangguan Qingyue used various methods to get close to him, and her plans succeeded. At that time, he had a fiancée, but his fiancée suddenly disappeared, and no one knows her whereabouts to this day. Everyone thought that women got rid of her to get him, but unfortunately, there’s no evidence of that."

Tantai Lingyan frowned. "Such an evil woman!"

"Shangguan Qingyue is indeed an evil woman, and she is also a schemer. Although Shangguan Qingyin is the queen of the Song Kingdom, her reputation is far inferior to Dugu Jiuyou’s, so their marriage didn’t go through."

"Heh!" Tantai Lingyan sneered. "Shangguan Qingyue may be a schemer, but Xiao’er already saw through everything, so he decided to join their group to protect Mu Qingge. She may be Shangguan Qingyin’s niece, but he doesn’t care about that. If she dares to act against his wife, she must be prepared to face the consequences, and her life will be extremely miserable."

"The problem is the Shangguan Clan and Shangguan Qingyue’s parents, Elder Tantai. If Tang Xiao does anything bad to Shangguan Qingyue, he will have to face them, and our sect won’t be able to help him with their problem."

Unlike Duanmu Jingjing, Tantai Lingyan was familiar with Tang Xiao’s character, and she knew that he had many ways to do something to Shangguan Qingyue without arousing the suspicions of her parents and the Shangguan Clan. "I’m not worried about them, and I believe Xiao’er will do everything carefully. If that woman dares to make a move against his wife, her life will surely turn into hell."

Duanmu Jingjing was confused by Tantai Lingyan’s confidence, but she herself was not familiar with Tang Xiao, so she chose not to comment on the matter.

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"Is that woman your wife?" Shao Jiuling asked Tang Xiao while pointing at the resting Mu Qingge.

Tang Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask that?"

"Hehe," Shao Jiuling chuckled. "Even though your disguise is perfect, I can still see through it somewhat, and your attitude towards Mu Qingge is unusual. You seem to be keeping your distance from her, but the two of you are also close at the same time, so I think like that. Did you deliberately disguise yourself like this because of Shangguan Qingyue?"

Tang Xiao glanced briefly at the sleeping Shangguan Qingyue. "That woman is a troublemaker and a schemer, and she is targeting Mu Qingge."

"I see." Shao Jiuling nodded in understanding. "If Shangguan Qingyue wasn’t Shangguan Qingyin’s niece, many people would target her for revenge, and one of them would be the Dugu Clan."

Tang Xiao nodded slightly. "I’ve heard stories about Shangguan Qingyue, Dugu Cangxu, and the Dugu Clan. She was interested in that man, and she got rid of his fiancée. They were unable to find Dugu Cangxu’s fiancée, and their relationship ended because his father disapproved of it."

"Since there’s no evidence to prove Shangguan Qingyue’s involvement in Dugu Cangxu’s fiancée’s disappearance, they can’t do anything about her." Shao Jiuling glanced at Mu Qingge. "You must protect your wife well, and you must not leave her alone with that woman, or she will suffer the same fate."

"Thank you for your warning and advice." Then, Tang Xiao asked her. "What is that woman’s name?"

"Huo Mianmian is a member of the Huo Clan, and her clan lives on the outskirts of the Xuanyuan Empire Capital." Tang Xiao asked Xiao Ai to track down the woman’s whereabouts. "The Huo Clan isn’t as renowned as the Dugu Clan, and it’s a second-grade clan, but the two clans have a close relationship. In the past, her grandfather saved the lives of Dugu Cangxu’s parents, and his father wanted to repay him by marrying their children off. Coincidentally, they liked each other, so their relationship went smoothly until the appearance of Shangguan Qingyue."

Tang Xiao nodded slightly. "Honestly, I don’t like interfering in the affairs of other people or clans, and I want to focus on my cultivation. Since the matter has something to do with Shangguan Qingyue, and she is targeting one of my wives, I will try to track down Huo Mianmian’s whereabouts."

"I think it’s useless," Shao Jiuling said with a regretful sigh. "Huo Mianmian has been missing for several years, and members of both clans have been searching for her all over the island, but unfortunately, their efforts have never yielded any results."

"Does that woman have a life jade?"

"All cultivators must have life jades."

"Is her life jade still intact?"

"Her life jade is still intact to this day."

"Since her life jade is still intact, she should still be alive now. Perhaps Shangguan Qingyue deliberately hid her somewhere out of everyone’s reach so they never managed to find her." Shao Jiuling agreed with Tang Xiao, but she wasn’t sure he could find her. "I won’t say anything for now, but I have my method, and I will try to find that woman’s whereabouts. If I manage to find her, I hope the Dugu and Huo Clans will be willing to help me deal with Shangguan Qingyue and the Shangguan Clan."

Shao Jiuling nodded in understanding. "If you can find Huo Mianmian, the Dugu and Huo Clans will owe you a great favor, and they won’t refuse to help you deal with the Shangguan Clan."

"That’s great!" Tang Xiao clasped his hands together. "I actually don’t want to have any trouble with the Shangguan Clan, but Shangguan Qingyue’s scheming inevitably brought trouble between us. Since I don’t have any backers in this realm, I have to think twice about fighting them."

Shao Jiuling suddenly remembered something. "Young man, you have to be careful because the Shangguan Clan are in-laws with the Song Clan. Besides, I heard news that Emperor Xuanyuan will marry his niece to Song Tianzun, so he will support the Song Clan. So, you already understand the situation, right?"

"Yes," Tang Xiao nodded seriously. "The Song Clan will definitely help the Shangguan Clan, and the Xuanyuan Clan might intervene if I deal with the Song Clan. I won’t seek trouble with them openly, and I’ll do everything secretly."

"It’s good that you are aware of the situation."