Chapter 489 - 485: Ruthless
Han Mei eyed the old man with suspicion and asked coldly, "Doesn’t the Purple-eyed Race refuse to accept anyone without their bloodline? Why would you be so kind?"
The old man sneered. "You’re talking about Lengqiu Palace! I’m not from Lengqiu Palace!"
"Then who are you?" Han Mei looked at the old man, surprised. She didn’t know much about the Purple Eyes, only that Lengqiu Palace was their Sect. She had never imagined that this Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor wasn’t part of Lengqiu Palace.
"I am of the Purple-eyed Race, but I do not belong to Lengqiu Palace. Understand?" The Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor had a look of disdain on his face when he mentioned Lengqiu Palace.
Han Mei hesitated. She knew full well that even though the Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor smiled and seemed kind, he was like a well-fed lion. It might look as harmless as a big cat, but the moment its ferocity was unleashed, it could kill in an instant.
So, although Han Mei didn’t believe the old man’s offer to take her as a disciple came from a place of kindness, his promise to make her a peerless master in a short time deeply attracted her.
Martial Artists who had reached a certain realm wouldn’t deign to lie. Someone like the Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor, with his power, could just do whatever he wanted. There was no need to waste words or resort to deception.
Therefore, Han Mei believed that everything the Purple-eyed Emperor said was true!
Taking a deep breath, Han Mei said slowly, "Fine. I agree!"
"Miss..." Neither Fang Xiang nor Gu Yu had expected Han Mei to agree to the Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor’s offer. They knew that by becoming his disciple, she would be branded as one of the Purple Eyes for the rest of her life! There would be no way to change it!
Han Mei smiled faintly and said, "If you don’t want to follow me, you’re free to leave. You two have been with me for so many years. I know I have a bad temper and take it out on you, but that’s only because I see you as my closest family, like sisters. So, rest assured, if you don’t want to follow me, just go. Find an ordinary man to marry. With your strength, you won’t be bullied. You can just live a quiet life from now on."
"Miss..." The two maids’ eyes turned red. Honestly, they wanted to stay with Han Mei. But in this situation, anyone could see that Han Mei’s heart was filled with nothing but hatred. Her life from now on would likely be lived in hatred. Following her wouldn’t just mean a future with no prospects; they could lose their lives at any moment.
But Han Mei’s words moved the two maids to tears. Still, they were rational enough not to immediately declare that they would stay.
A flicker of faint disappointment crossed the depths of Han Mei’s eyes. ’In this world, everyone is so pragmatic,’ she thought. ’No one truly gives themselves for another! Everything has a price!’
With this in mind, Han Mei waved her hand. "Both of you, go!"
"Miss, then... then we’ll be going..." Gu Yu knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Han Mei a few times, and then spoke, her face streaming with tears.
Fang Xiang, however, had seen that flicker of disappointment in Han Mei’s eyes. Her heart suddenly clenched. She remained standing and said hesitantly, "Miss, I... I still want to stay by your side and serve you. I just don’t know... if I’ll be a burden to you..."
Han Mei was slightly taken aback. She gave Fang Xiang a deep look and smiled faintly. "If you’re not afraid of hardship, then you can stay with me!"
Gu Yu looked at Fang Xiang, confused. ’Why did she suddenly change her mind?’ she wondered. But Gu Yu had already made her decision to get away from this place of conflict. It was said that the farther east one went, the weaker the people were. Gu Yu decided to head for the Eastern Continent. With her strength, she might even be able to control a small country and become a queen or something.
At this thought, Gu Yu’s dejection vanished completely. ’The world is vast,’ she thought. ’There are plenty of places for me to make my own way!’
Han Mei saw the change in Gu Yu. The moment Gu Yu suppressed her inner delight and turned to leave, Han Mei... drew her sword!
She didn’t even give Gu Yu a chance to ask why, directly piercing her heart from behind. Gu Yu looked down to see the sword tip emerge from her own high, full chest.
In that instant, Gu Yu’s mind became crystal clear. She suddenly understood why Fang Xiang had changed her mind. A bitter smile touched her lips as she thought, ’Miss, one day, you will also die like this, under someone else’s sword!’
Witnessing Gu Yu’s death, Fang Xiang’s face went pale. Her lips trembled and her legs felt so weak she almost collapsed. A wave of fear washed over her. ’If I had chosen to leave like Gu Yu,’ she thought, ’there would be two bodies on the ground right now.’
"Alright, Fang Xiang, you don’t have to be afraid. As long as you follow me properly, if I eat, you eat. If I become rich and powerful one day, you will certainly get your share!" Han Mei said coolly. "I hate betrayal!"
The Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor had been standing aside and watching, looking very patient. Seeing Han Mei kill her maid with a single strike, he laughed and said, "Good disciple! Truly wicked. You have my style from back in the day!"
With that, the Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor took Han Mei and Fang Xiang and departed.
A light breeze stirred, carrying the faint scent of blood. The tragically slain Gu Yu’s eyes were wide and lifeless, yet a mocking smile hung on her lips.
It was unclear if she was mocking herself, or someone else.
...
Qin Li stood at the Sect gate and released his Divine Thought. Everything within a radius of dozens of li appeared in his mind.
A group of Martial Artists from the Hai Family were lying in ambush at three intersections outside Lengqiu Palace. Apparently, they were certain that Qin Li would, in all likelihood, leave Moon Shaking Immortal Palace!
A cold sneer formed on Qin Li’s lips. Within his Divine Thought, he detected a behemoth. As Qin Li’s Divine Sense swept past, the behemoth seemed to sense it. Qin Li’s Divine Sense quickly moved on, and he immediately flew in that direction.
The Hai Family group would never have imagined that after leaving the Sect gate, Qin Li would actually go looking for that mountain-guarding Ancient Strange Beast, the Hou!
Even if all the members of the Hai Family group attacked it together, they still wouldn’t dare provoke that thing. So, no one ever considered that Qin Li would be so audacious.
Hai Jinzun said, "Ancestor, it seems Qin Li won’t be leaving Moon Shaking Immortal Palace today. Perhaps those people were intimidated by Elder Yongchun."
Hai Yufeng’s expression was a little grim, but he still nodded. After all, the strength Yongchun had displayed today was simply too astonishing.
Hai Yufeng’s strength had been comparable to hers back then, but now he stood almost no chance of fighting back against Yongchun. It seemed that to have any hope of defeating her, they would have to call upon the family’s most powerful ancestor.
Hai Yufeng looked at the corpse of the dead disciple, his expression ugly. He ground his teeth and said, "Han Mei, Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, you’ve gone too far!"
When the Hai family left, they had found the body of that disciple. They immediately understood that he had, in all likelihood, been killed by Han Mei.
Therefore, the hatred Hai Yufeng and the others felt for Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had reached a certain peak, while their animosity toward Qin Li had lessened considerably.
In reality, most people in the Hai Family didn’t know Qin Li at all. Without knowing him, they could neither love nor hate him. They had only two reasons for wanting to kill him: they wanted the Ancient Map he possessed, and they wanted to eliminate this peerless genius before he was fully fledged!
Nipping a crisis in the bud was a favorite tactic of major powers. They had no desire to let an opponent become fully fledged before making a move. That way... even if they managed to eliminate their rival, they themselves would suffer grievous losses.
Hai Yufeng glanced in the direction of Moon Shaking Immortal Palace and said flatly, "Let’s go!"
...
As Qin Li’s figure flew closer to the enormous, deep valley, he felt a powerful aura that was so oppressive he could barely breathe.
Fortunately, Qin Li’s own strength was not to be underestimated. Forcing his way through the terrifying aura, he landed at the mouth of the valley.
Just then, the ground beneath Qin Li’s feet began to tremble slightly. From the depths of the valley, within the Forest of dense, towering trees, a massive beast dozens of meters long slowly rose.
It looked almost identical to the strange beast with Hou bloodline that Qin Li had seen at sea, but its aura was a world apart!
If the Hou at sea back then had possessed such an aura, Han Mei probably wouldn’t have even had the courage to attack.
"Little human, what have you come here for? Don’t you know that this is a forbidden land?" Unexpectedly, the Hou was not angry or frenzied as Qin Li had imagined. Instead, it asked him a question quite calmly.
This was by no means because the Hou had a good temperament. It was because the wisp of Divine Sense from Qin Li just now had felt very familiar to it, which was why it had come out to see him.
Otherwise, just like during the battle between Yongchun and Hai Yufeng, the massive commotion had directly enraged the Hou. It was its roar that had shattered the dark clouds summoned by Hai Yufeng. At the same time, the Hou’s roar had also greatly affected Hai Yufeng’s Spiritual Power, causing him to lose the courage to continue fighting.
If not for that, even if Hai Yufeng was no match for Yongchun, his defeat would not have been so swift and absolute.
Qin Li smiled. "Senior, this junior once encountered a Spirit Beast on the seas of the Eastern Continent that possessed the bloodline of your race. We fought side-by-side once. Unfortunately, it is already dead. Before it died, it entrusted me with a task: if I ever had the chance, I should come see you, Senior, and it hoped I could rescue you..."
As he spoke, Qin Li took out the untouched corpse of the Spirit Beast with Hou bloodline from his ring.
The Hou was slightly startled. When its huge eyes saw the corpse on the ground, a trace of grief appeared in them. It asked softly, "Who killed it?"
"It was Han Mei, the Saintess of this Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. But she has now been expelled from Moon Shaking Immortal Palace!" Qin Li said.
The Hou took a few deep, ragged breaths. No expression could be seen on its ferocious, large head, but it was clearly enraged. Then it said, "The fact that you were able to obtain its body proves you’re telling the truth. Otherwise, you could never have gotten a Hou’s physical body. You can keep that body; it should be of some use. Now, come with me."
With that, it turned and descended into the dense Forest in the valley without looking back.