Lying on his bed, Lu Buwei was enjoying the gentle treatment from a few beautiful women. His hands were stroking across their soft and delicate skin, and his eyes squinted in a deep thought.
How would an ambitious man like him be willing to submit under someone else? When the six dynasties just began to retreat from Myriad Immortal Planet, he had left the planet long before them, bringing with him the enormous properties and the members of his own clan. As the leader of the clan, after settling down all his kin, he had traveled alone to Pangu Continent, hoping to find some opportunities that he could use to raise in power again.
Not only did he know the divine ability of Great Portage of Five Ghosts, he also owned a mystic treasure, the Heavenly Ghost Mirror. It was a rare ancient treasure that specialized in traversing the void. With it, he was able to travel at a greater speed using the teleportation formation that connected to Pangu Continent, allowing him to arrive at his destination in just half a year.
Unfortunately, in just less than a month since he arrived in Pangu Continent, he accidentally invaded the Northern Ocean and was captured alive by Goddess Miao Xin. Initially, she thought of torturing and killing him for fun. But,, being a man who was as cunning as a fox, he was able to convince her easily in just a few words, volunteering to manage all the mineral veins under the Northern Ocean for her. Eventually, he opened up the mine that produced Nether Ocean Dark Gold Copper.
Since then, he had been meticulously serving both Patriarch Miao Ying and Goddess Miao Xin. And over the last two years, he managed to rope in Daoist Wu Wang, the newcomer who replaced him as the supervisor of the mine. 'I'm on the brink of success.' He had planned well, and Miao Ying Palace should be a good backing. With the protection of Miao Ying Palace, as well as the over ten thousand cultivators as his foundation, he should be able to easily develop a property one hundred times bigger than what he had in the Lu Clan.
He even had the confidence that he would one day be able to bring Patriarch Miao Ying and Goddess Miao Xin under his control. At that point in time, the entire Miao Ying Palace would become his property.
But, the arrival of Lao Ai and Lord Long Yang had brought him a sense of crisis. 'I should have expected to meet some of them here on Pangu Continent.' he thought. But, what frustrated him even more was that Lao Ai had successfully won over Goddess Miao Xin's favor, and Lord Long Yang had clung himself to King Zhang Qiu. That had further raised the alertness in his heart.
'I need to find a way to get rid of Lao Ai. As for Lord Long Yang... It will be better to bring him under my control!' With a frown on his face, he carefully weighed the stakes involved. 'Too bad that Patriarch Miao Ying is only interested in boys with Seven Killing entering their Life Palace. Otherwise, I could also sell myself and try to deal with that old monster... Tsk, Lao Ai, how could you be so shameless? And Lord Long Yang, you are not much different than him. Both of you are not some good eggs!'
'I need to keep that Daoist Wu Wang close to me. Perhaps I can wed him to one of my daughters in the clan, making him my son-in-law. With that, I could use those cultivators to set a firm foothold in Miao Ying Palace. Only then could I find a way to deal with him later. It is not difficult to handle a mere Nascent Soul cultivator.' Lu Buwei threw the two men who gave him a headache out of his mind, and began to ponder how to draw Wu Qi closer to him.
It was at that moment that one of the over thirty soul jade slips placed neatly next to his bed broke.
He sprung up abruptly and kicked the few beautiful women out of the bed, looking at the broken soul jade slip with terror as he cried out, "Little Six is dead! Damn it, who killed him? Could it be Lao Ai? No, he is fooling around with Goddess Miao Xin now. Could it be Lord Long Yang? No, he is currying favor with King Zhang Qiu now... Who could it be then?"
He pointed one finger out and unleashed several streams of ghost energy, knocking out the few women who laid face-down on the floor and dared not to move. After that, with a flip of his palm, an ugly, ferocious-looking ghost face rushed out of his head. Even as it opened its mouth and gave an eerie cry, the Heavenly Ghost Mirror flew out soundlessly from it.
The mirror took an oval shape, pitch-black in color. Thirteen Heavenly Ghosts with ferocious features, twisting bodies, and painful expressions interlocked into a base underneath it. Shrouded in a raging dark flame, they were raising their arms up to support the mirror that emanated an immense ghost aura. Vaguely, a deep and muffled ghost howl could be heard coming through the mirror face.
Pointing at the mirror, Lu Buwei recited a few incantations and snapped, "Heavenly Ghost True Spirit, show me all the things throughout the entire universe!" The mirror face, about one-foot and three inches in diameter, rippled like a puddle of water. Before long, a beam of sticky black light shout of the depth of the mirror, and abruptly, the figure of Daoist Wu Wang flashed across the mirror face.
The corners of Lu Buwei's eyes twitched as he cursed at the top of his voice, "Damn it! Daoist Wu Wang, you are such an ungrateful brat! I've treated you the best I could over the last two years, and even brought you several dozens of pretty girls, yet this is how you repay my kindness?"
But, a thought struck him suddenly, causing him to leap thirty feet up from the bed. "No, no, Little Six is a peak Nascent Divinity cultivator practicing a bizarre and unpredictable evil technique. Even I have to admit that I'm inferior when it comes to the ability to flee for my life. How could it be possible that Wu Wang, a mere Nascent Soul Fiend cultivator, have the ability to kill Little Six?"
His eyes darted from side to side. Suddenly, he clenched his jaw fiercely and unleashed five little ghosts, who emanated a large column of ghostly mists, carrying him up and bringing him rushing out of the hall.
"Daoist Wu Wang, Daoist Wu Wang! I was fooled by you once again! Damn it, I should have killed you! I'll definitely kill you and slaughter your entire clan! I promised you that!"
But, he halted abruptly right after rushing out of the hall. With his eyes rolling about, a vicious smile suddenly emerged on his face.
"How strange! For what reason did that Wu Wang want to kill Little Six? Mm, what is he trying to do? Or, what has he done?"
He laughed strangely and lightly clapped his hands. A few executing-disciples who he had taken control of made their appearance from the surroundings and quickly came before him. He raised his head to look at the ghost flame dancing atop a bone pillar off in the distance, then said with a cold voice, "Go find out where has the supervisor of the mine, Daoist Wu Wang, gone today. Mm, split up and stay low. Do not let others know about your errand."
Those executing-disciples bowed respectfully to Lu Buwei, then spun and vanished in gusts of breeze.
They were personally trained by Lu Buwei himself, so they were very shrewd and capable. In just the time to finish a pot of tea, they had returned with a list of places where Wu Qi had visited today. The more Lu Buwei listened to them, the happier he became. At last, he clapped and said with a smile, "Well done. So, he had visited all the storehouses with Goddess's medallion? Tsk, why is he visiting those storehouses? One thing for sure, he is not up to something good!"
He paced slowly in a circle, sinking in a deep thought. 'But, from where did he get that medallion? How could a Gold Immortal fail to keep her belongings safe? Oh well, it must be Lao Ai!'
He clapped his hands heavily as his lips curved into a smile. 'Lao Ai must have stolen it from Goddess! But, why is he doing that? He should know very well that none of us could survive under the raging flame of anger of a Gold Immortal. Yet, he still did that... but for what? Lao Ai is not a nobleman who would sacrifice himself for others, and he values nothing but his own life. So, what exactly makes him want to risk his life for Wu Wang?'
After pondering silently for a long while, Lu Buwei cried out in a deep voice, "My children, I need four of you to keep guard at the mine entrance. Should you see Daoist Wu Wang, despite what he is doing, follow him closely from behind. He will not touch you in front of so many Fiend guards in Miao Ying Palace."
Almost immediately, four figures transformed into beams of light and flew out of Miao Ying Palace, positioning themselves before the mine entrance like four vigilant hunting hounds.
Then, Lu Buwei issued the second order, "Send a few men to serve King Zhang Qiu. Bring all the fine wines, delicious dishes, beautiful girls and boys over. Stay with him and do not let him out of your sight. If Lord Long Yang is trying to harm you, give this jade slip to King Zhang Qiu immediately."
With a snap of his fingers, a jade slip appeared in his hand. He focused his mind and injected a message into the jade slip, then handed it to one of the executing-disciples. "Be careful to not show any unusual look before Lord Long Yang," Lu Buwei reminded them in a serious tone, "Just serve them well, and do your best to satisfy whatever needs King Zhang Qiu has. If Lord Long Yang leaves King Zhang Qiu, even if it is for just a brief moment, give the jade slip to King Zhang Qiu immediately."
A few executing-disciples bowed, before quickly transforming into beams of light and flying towards the side hall where King Zhang Qiu was staying.
After pondering for a brief moment with one hand stroking his beard, Lu Buwei suddenly laughed. 'So, what's left now is Lao Ai? Lao Ai, oh Lao Ai, could you be the one who is behind everything? Are you here for all the treasures in Miao Ying Palace? Why are you so superficial? What could those mere treasures do for you? Did you know that if you can bring Goddess Miao Xin under your control, that would be your biggest reward?'
A sinister smile emerged on his face as he murmured under his breath, "Too bad that I will never let you have that reward!"
He clapped his hands. Before long, a handsome young man walked out of a chamber next to the side hall. He had pretty features like that of a maiden, his muscles lean and powerful like that of a leopard, and a strong evil aura was emanating from his body. Staring at Lu Buwei, the youth bowed and asked, "Forefather, do you have any orders for me?"
"My good boy, it is time for you to shine!" said Lu Buwei in a powerful voice, "I'm getting ready to kill Lao Ai, and I need you to appease Goddess Miao Xin. Have you gained anything after spending so many years practicing the Dhyana Technique of Great Delight?"
The youth smiled faintly as he nodded and said, "I don't think I am inferior to Lao Ai."
"Excellent! Fortunately, you've arrived on time, as I don't have any kin who can help me here." He laughed a strange laugh and said complacently, "Lao Ai, oh Lao Ai, did you think I don't know that you have a Nine Coiling Dragon Penis? Hehe, I bet you never expect that one of my descendants has the same innate talent as you!"
He beckoned to the youth, then strode straight towards Goddess Miao Xin's chamber.
Wu Qi sat on a rock near the mine entrance, glancing around through the formation consisting of thirty-six Fiend guards.
Four executing-disciples sent out by Lu Buwei were sauntering somewhere tens of miles away from Wu Qi, chasing fishes for fun. The group of thirty-six Fiend guards simply ignored the four little things who they could crush easily with fingers, but Wu Qi could see them clearly through Mystic Eyes of Universe.
'Lu Buwei, how did you learn that I am the one who killed your man?'
Wu Qi's heart sunk. He knew that Lu Buwei, the cunning and treacherous man, had realized that something was amiss, and had begun to act accordingly.
'I've to come out with a countermeasure quickly. Otherwise, everything will fall apart very soon!'