Asura Sovereign VI Page 8
Seeing that Huwang Xiao, Zhao Shu, and Zhang Fu arrived, the four people in the hall stood up.
“Young Noble Huwang, Mister Zhao.” Duan Ren took a few steps forward in greeting. Duan Wuhen and the two old men behind followed Duan Ren, greeting respectfully.
Huwang Xiao nodded, indicating everyone to take a seat, doing the same himself.
“Young Noble Huwang, have you heard about the Ancient Dragon Clan ruins in the Origin Forest?” Once seated, Emperor Duanren broached the subject with a frank and honest stance.
Indeed, Emperor Duanren made this visit for this sole purpose.
Huwang Xiao smiled, “I have just found out a moment ago, and was just planning to make a trip over to the Origin Forest.”
Emperor Duanren’s face lit up at Huwang Xiao’s answer, laughing he said, “Before coming here, I was thinking about joining forces with Young Noble Huwang and Mister Zhao, we were also planning to head to the Origin Forest.”
“Good.” Huwang Xiao nodded in agreement.
Earlier, when Huwang Xiao guessed Emperor Duanren’s purpose for meeting him, he already made a decision. Thus, when Duan Ren spoke of the matter frankly, Huwang Xiao agreed to an alliance with no deliberation.
After all, this time there would be empire level experts from all three continents, when it came down to a fight, it was kill or be killed. As such, it was always good to have more strength and power.
Subsequently, both mentioned some terms in regards to the alliance.
When facing enemies, both sides would join hands to deal with the enemy, advancing and retreating in the same breath. Treasures belonged to whoever found them.
When all was agreed upon, Huwang Xiao said, “Since things are settled, everyone should get ready to depart in two hours towards the Origin Forest.”
“Agreed.” Emperor Duanren stood up, bid farewell to Huwang Xiao, Zhao Shu, and Zhang Fu, leaving the Southern Hill Estate back to Duanren Palace with Duan Wuhen and the two old men behind him to prepare the necessary things and assembled in Southern Hill Estate in two hours’ time.
After Emperor Duanren left, Huwang Xiao went to see his parents, informing them that he would head to the Origins Forest.
Hearing that their son wanted to leave again, both parents’ faces were filled with sadness.
“Long’er, you must be very careful heading to the Origin Forest.” Su Yan’s eyes were red as she implored Huwang Xiao.
Huwang Xiao nodded, “I will. Mother, rest assured, nothing will happen, your son is now a Saint realm expert.”
Listening to her son, Su Yan wiped away her tears with a smile, “It’s just that, my heart feels uneasy.” This unease inevitably made her worried.
She looked over to Zhao Shu, “Mister Zhao, I leave Young Lord’s safety in your hands.”
Zhao Shu took a step forward, respectfully saying, “Please rest assured, Madame.”
Two hours later, Duan Ren’s group of three returned to Southern Hill Estate to convene with Huwang Xiao. Sent off with Huwang Peng and Su Yan’s teary faces, Huwang Xiao and his group made their way out of Duanren Imperial City.
This time, Duan Ren brought the same two old men, whereas Huwang Xiao only brought Zhao Shu and giant ghost Feng Yang. Zhang Fu, Yu Ming, and the rest remained in Southern Hill Estate to protect everyone’s safety.
Initially, Duan Ren wanted to bring his son Duan Wuhen along, however, considering Duan Wuhen’s strength, he could only scrape the thought.
All six people in the group were Saint realm experts, rushing all the way at fast speed, in half a month’s time, they cut through Spring Faun Empire, entering High Sun Empire’s demesne. As long as they passed through High Sun Empire, they would arrive at the Origin Forest.
Night, hazy moonlight shone down the foggy darkness. Their vision only went as far as the five fingers with their arms extended out.
The six people stopped in a barren hill slope in High Sun Empire.
“Why don’t we rest here for the night and continue tomorrow?” Huwang Xiao suggested.
Emperor Duanren has no opinion, hence all six people landed on the small hill peak. Initiating the true essence fire in his dantian, with a wave of his hand, a spark of flame fell on the ground. Huwang Xiao already built fire for the night, stunning Emperor Duanren and the others as Huwang Xiao’s true essence fire need not rely on wood to burn. When the fire fell on the ground, it burned with great brightness, lighting the peak like it was daylight.
Zhao Shu had seen too many unbelievable things in the years he stayed with Huwang Xiao, now, not many things related to Huwang Xiao could surprise him as they did before. But Duan Ren and the other two old men were shocked.
Exchanging glances amongst themselves, they saw their own shock mirrored in each other’s eyes.
Everyone gathered around the fire to rest for the night.
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When Duan Ren sat down, he couldn’t resist casting a quick glance at Feng Yang behind Huwang Xiao, his large body hidden wholly under a large black hooded cloak. The days they had been traveling, Feng Yang did not utter a word, but there was a sui generis atmosphere coming from Feng Yang that made Duan Ren feel slightly uncomfortable. This atmosphere was something innate, which made Dua Ren wonder about the background of Huwang Xiao’s bodyguard.
However, Huwang Xiao did not say anything and it wasn’t Duan Ren’s place to ask. Like Duan Ren, the two old guardians of Duanren Institute were also curious about Feng Yang’s identity, but regardless of the many possibilities that crossed the three people’s minds, they never would have imagined that Feng Yang was actually an otherworldly creature—a ghost.
In the Martial Spirit World’s long history, only the Ghost King of that era was able to subjugate ghosts.
The night passed in silence, without any words.
The morning sun rose from the eastern horizon, its bright rays dispersing the morning fog. What shocked Duan Ren was that the true essence fire burned throughout the night without requiring any burning fuel, unchanging. When everyone stood up, preparing to continue their journey for the day, Huwang Xiao retrieved the true essence fire with a casual hand flick, keeping it back in his dantian.
This bizarre scene once again caused Duan Ren and the two old men’s eyes to go round in wonder.
Duan Ren looked at Huwang Xiao, the sword-shaped brows and bright clear eyes, the face that was slightly too charming, he increasingly felt that he couldn’t see through the youth in front of him.
“Let’s go.” Huwang Xiao said after retrieving the true essence fire into his body, he was the first to fly off.
Only then did Duan Ren recover from his gaffe. The rest quickly caught up to Huwang Xiao.
The group continued to accumulate miles at high speed.
Five days later, the group arrived at the northernmost point of High Sun Empire, the Rising Sun City. It was a day with harsh sun and strong wind.
Huwang Xiao stood some distance from the Rising Sun City’s gates, observing the endless line of carts and horse carriages, then he said solemnly, “We’ll enter the city for a short break, we should take this chance to understand the Origin Forest’s current situation.”
“Very well.” Duan Ren agreed. He was thinking along the same line. They already reached the Rising Sun City, there was no hurry to rush into the Origin Forest blindly. Hence, the group made their way into the Rising Sun City.
Although the Rising Sun City wasn’t High Sun Empire’s imperial city, it was one of the empire’s bigger cities. With its strategic location being close to the Origin Forest, its prosperity and liveliness didn't lose out to Duanren Imperial City in any way.
Huwang Xiao also noticed that Xiantian realm warriors were a common sight here, one could even see high-level Xiantian realm warriors here and there.
For some kingdoms, Xiantian realm warriors were the pillars of strength, but here, Xiantian warriors weren’t worth much, to the point that the majority of the shopkeepers here were Xiantian realm warriors. Zhao
Shu, Duan Ren, and the rest were also surprised seeing so many Xiantian realm warriors.
In Duanren Imperial City, there was a probability of one in ten thousand people for a Xiantian to appear, in this Rising Sun City however, the ratio was closer to one Xiantian realm warrior in a hundred people.
The group walked the streets, following the flow. A while later, they stopped in front of a building called Smooth Voyage Inn.
The layout and ornamentation of Smooth Voyage Inn were glorious and impressive to the extent that the Unforgettable Intoxication Restaurant in Duanren Imperial City seemed paltry in comparison. The Smooth Voyage Inn’s business was booming, with an endless stream of patrons walking in and out of the establishment, each clad in various styles of clothing. Judging from the looks, most of the warriors had rushed over for the same reason as them—the Ancient Dragon Clan’s ruin in Origin Forest.
Huwang Xiao and his group stepped into the inn.
For information gathering, eating places like this that gathered all kinds of people were the best. Huwang Xiao scanned the ground floor, nearly all of the over a hundred tables arranged were occupied. At this point, a small waiter came up to welcome Huwang Xiao’s group.
His main purpose was to collect information, so instead of going up to the first or second floor, Huwang Xiao simply picked an empty table on the ground floor.
Taking a seat, Huwang Xiao asked the small waiter, “What’s the best wine you have here?”
No matter where Huwang Xiao went, he rarely lacked good wine.
The small waiter grinned, “Young Noble, our highest quality wine is the Origin Wine, brewed from a hundred kinds of herbs and fruits collected from the Origin Forest, but the price isn't low, every jug is two hundred thousand gold coins.”
“Oh~, two hundred thousand gold coins?” Huwang Xiao was astonished. The most expensive wine Huwang Xiao tasted was the Sapidity Wine in Duanren Institute that only cost him ten thousand gold coins a jug. He didn’t expect this Origin Wine to cost so many times more.
The small waiter added, “Young Noble, other than the Origin Wine, we also have Dragon Tiger Wine, the Monkey Wine is also very good, only several hundred gold coins.” The small waiter thought that the Origin Wine was too expensive for Huwang Xiao from his astonishment, thus he recommended other cheaper wines. He had seen too many of the same reactions from guests upon hearing the Origin Wine’s price.
After all, people who were willing to pay two hundred thousand gold coins for a jug of wine were few and far between.
Huwang Xiao didn’t mind the small waiter’s misunderstanding, saying, “Firstly, bring five jugs of Origin Wine and a table of your best dishes.”
Firstly, bring five jugs! The small waiter looked dumbfounded, “Young Noble, are you sure you want to order Origin Wine?” Five jugs, that was a million gold coins!
Huwang Xiao nodded. He took out a spatial ring, opened the restrictions on it and placed it on the table, allowing the small waiter to clearly see the piles upon piles of mountain high gold coins in the space inside. This spatial ring once belonged to Blood Dragon City’s Li Li before it became Huwang Xiao’s property after killing her.
Looking at the numerous mountain high gold coins inside the spatial ring, the small waiter trembled, unsure if it was from fright or excitement. In the next second, the small waiter’s attitude turned a hundred and eighty degrees, nodding profusely, displaying his utmost respect, telling Huwang Xiao to wait for a moment while he scurried off in a jiffy to have the orders prepared.
Very soon, the small waiter returned with five jugs of Origin Wine and served a table full of fragrant dishes. After serving the wine and dishes, the small waiter did not leave, instead, he waited close to Huwang Xiao in a complaisant manner, in case Huwang Xiao had more orders.
One of the two Duanren Institute’s Honorable Saint Masters unsealed a random jug, filling out five wine bowls for everyone. Five because giant ghost Feng Yang remained standing loyally behind Huwang Xiao.
Grabbing one of the wine bowls, Huwang Xiao raised it, “Brother Duan Ren, please.”
Duan Ren quickly raised his wine bowl, “Young Noble Huwang, Mister Zhao, please.” Duan Ren clinked his bowl with Huwang Xiao, Zhao Shu, and the two companions before gulping a mouthful of wine.
The liquid eased down the throat with fiery smoothness, primal, pristine, mellowing into a warm gentleness akin to being transported from one era to the next, everchanging, leaving one in reverie and longing for another taste.
The small waiter watched Huwang Xiao, his nerves strung high.
Huwang Xiao nodded happily, “Not bad.”
This Origin Wine was a grade higher than Duanren Institute’s Sapidity Wine. Hearing Huwang Xiao’s compliment, the small waiter breathed in relief inwardly.
“How many jugs of this wine do you have left?” Huwang Xiao asked the small waiter.
The small waiter blanked for a moment, “There are still five hundred and thirty-two jugs in the cellar.”
Huwang Xiao said, “I’ll take them all.”
“All, all of them?” The small waiter stammered.
“I cannot?” Huwang Xiao asked.
“No, no, can, of course you can!” The small waiter replied hastily, even though this kind of thing had never happened in the inn, it was just the same. There was no rule saying that guests cannot buy all of them. The small waiter excused himself and quickly ran off.
Huwang Xiao laughed, explaining to Duan Ren and the rest, “Other than practice, I don’t have many hobbies except for good wine.”
Those at the table chuckled cordially.
Moments later, the small waiter returned, but this time, he wasn’t alone. The small waiter was a step behind a tubby middle-aged man. Apparently, this middle-aged man was the inn owner.
Huwang Xiao action of wanting to buy all the remaining Origin Wine naturally alerted him.
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As the inn owner approached Huwang Xiao’s table, the lil server explained, “Owner, this is the Young Noble who intends to buy all the remaining Origin Wine.”
The inn owner was full of smiles speaking to Huwang Xiao, “I heard that Young Noble wants to buy all the remaining Origin Wine. Honestly, our inn has no rule saying that guests cannot buy all of them, but considering the guests coming in later, can I offer Young Noble five hundred jugs?” The inn owner was extremely cordial.
Five hundred jugs? Huwang Xiao nodded, “You can.” It wasn’t like he absolutely had to buy all the wine.
The inn owner’s tension left his body seeing Huwang Xiao agreeing so readily. Then, Huwang Xiao paid one hundred million gold coins to the inn owner. The latter left to prepare the Origin Wine for Huwang Xiao after receiving payment, requesting Huwang Xiao to wait momentarily.
Huwang Xiao and the rest continued to talk and drink while paying attention to the discussions happening around them as the inn owner left to make preparation.
“We don’t even know if this rumored Ancient Dragon ruin is real, it has already been half a year yet there hasn’t been anyone who found its location.”
“It’s probably real, but whether real or fake, it has nothing to do with us, we’re just here to add some liveliness.”
“That’s right, even if we’re lucky enough to get a dragon egg, we probably won’t live long enough.”
Several people at a table nearby talked amongst themselves. At the same time, at another table, someone else spoke: “I heard that Deities Templar also sent someone here this time!”
“Who says there’s only Deities Templar, even Starcloud Continent’s Asura’s Gate Sovereign Chen Tianqi is here, as well as Ten Directions Continent’s Beastmen King, Lu Zhenye!”
Asura’s Gate Sovereign Chen Tianqi? Huwang Xiao’s brows furrowed. This Chen Tianqi actually dared to proclaim himself as Asura’s Gate’s Sovereign, since people were recounting the matter as if it was fact, then it there was no doubt about it.
Whereas Zhao Shu issued a disdainful snort hearing that sentence.
“Mister Zhao, you’re…?” Noticing the change in Zhao Shu’s face, Duan Ren inquired.
“It’s nothing.” Zhao Shu shook his head.
At this time, the inn owner returned. However, there was a bearded thin man following behind him. The inn owner stood in front of Huwang Xiao with a chagrined face, “Young Noble, my apologies, that, Origin Wine, we can only sell ten jugs to you.”
“Ten jugs?” Huwang Xiao maintained a calm expression, waiting for the inn owner to continue.
The inn owner went on, “Just now, our Rising Sun City’s Castellan Manor’s Steward Chen bought the rest of the Origin Wine, therefore, therefore…” words spoke until this point, the meaning was clearer than daylight. He pointed to the thin bearded man behind him, introducing, “This is our Castellan Manor’s Steward Chen.”
That Steward Chen nodded with a slight uppity attitude, “Our Castellan’s original intent was to buy all the remaining Origin Wine, however, in order to give face to the inn owner, we acquiesced to give ten jugs to you.”
Listening to what he said, it sounded as if the inn owner did not ‘plead’ for Huwang Xiao, he wouldn’t be able to buy even one jug. Emperor Duanren, Zhao Shu, and everyone at the table were frowning.
“Is that so?” Huwang Xiao sounded apathetic.
That Steward Chen chuckled in a menacing manner, “Brat, let me tell you, this time, the reason our Castellan bought all the Origin Wine is to treat several Deities Templar’s Elders at the Castellan Manor.” An undisguised complacent expression plastered on Steward Chen’s face. In his opinion, Huwang Xiao would be pissing in his pants at the mention of Deities Templar.
Obviously, being chosen to host Deities Templar’s Elders at the Castellan Manor was a glory, something countless sects and renowned families could only dream of.
While Steward Chen reveled in his ‘importance’, Huwang Xiao instructed Feng Yang, who stood behind him: “Kill!”
“Yes, Owner.” Giant ghost Feng Yang acknowledged with respect.