plumnovel Chapter 322 - 279: Eliminating Future Trouble
Chapter 322 - 279: Eliminating Future Trouble
"Master, your subordinate, Wang Miao, requests an audience."
Outside the Seclusion Chamber.
Wang Miao stood outside with his head bowed, his tone utterly respectful. Yet, his expression was fraught with anxiety and nervousness. It was clear that the act of disturbing Xu Qing’s Cultivation had filled him with a deep sense of dread, and he feared he would be punished.
However, the matter he needed to report was extremely important—urgent, even. That was why Wang Miao had been forced to take such a risk. He had to inform Xu Qing and let him make the final decision.
"What is it?"
Xu Qing’s eyes opened. He had been roused from his Cultivation and frowned slightly. Although he wasn’t in deep seclusion, merely practicing the Dark Demon Technique, he was still displeased at being disturbed.
Still, Wang Miao was his loyal servant. If Xu Qing ordered Wang Miao to kill himself on the spot, the man wouldn’t even hesitate for a second. For Wang Miao to risk disturbing his Cultivation to report something, the matter had to be of the utmost importance. He must have weighed his options carefully before coming.
"Come in,"
Xu Qing said.
"My Lord."
The door to the Seclusion Chamber opened.
Wang Miao hurried inside, walked up to Xu Qing, and knelt before him. "Your subordinate apologizes for this sudden disturbance. I await my master’s punishment."
"Just speak first."
Xu Qing said in a low voice, "What is this about?"
"Master."
Wang Miao took a deep breath and spoke quickly. "Just moments ago, the former Marquis of Cangzhou, Cangba Dao, contacted the Fengdu Deceitful King. They are plotting something against the Cangzhou Prefecture."
"Cangba Dao."
Xu Qing’s expression darkened.
"Yes."
Wang Miao nodded.
BUZZ!
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Miao produced a projection Jade Scroll and immediately displayed its contents. In the projection, Cangba Dao took out a strange Jade Scroll and indeed established contact with the Fengdu Deceitful King.
"Marquis Cang."
Countless tentacles emerged from the strange Jade Scroll, gathering together to form an octopus-like phantom. It spoke, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Why have you sought out this Deceitful King?"
"Fengdu Deceitful King."
Cangba Dao took a deep breath and got straight to the point. "I need you to do me a favor. Of course, it will be worth your while."
"Tsk, tsk..."
The Fengdu Deceitful King clicked his tongue. "Do you really think you’re in any position to make a deal with me? If I recall correctly, ever since the great battle over a month ago, the public face of the Cangzhou Prefecture has been that fellow Wang Miao, while the real power behind the scenes is Ouyazi."
"And you,"
"are nothing more than a former Marquis."
"Fengdu Deceitful King."
Cangba Dao said gravely, "You should be well aware that neither Ouyazi nor Wang Miao would ever make a deal with you. Only I will."
"That Ouyazi is indeed powerful, and I wouldn’t dare provoke him. But he has no interest in taking the position of Lord of Cangzhou. He just wants to be a hands-off Shopkeeper."
"Therefore,"
"as long as we get rid of that Wang Miao, I am the most suitable candidate to become the Lord of Cangzhou. As the former Marquis, no one is more fitting than I."
"When that time comes,"
"and I have assumed the position of Lord of Cangzhou, I will be in a position to help you."
"Fengdu Deceitful King."
"You wouldn’t just be helping me; you’d be helping yourself..."
"Hahaha..."
The Fengdu Deceitful King laughed out loud. "I can help you get rid of Wang Miao, but the terms you previously promised me will have to be doubled."
"You..."
Cangba Dao’s face was grim. "You’re jacking up the price."
"If you’re not willing, then forget it."
BUZZ!
With that, the Fengdu Deceitful King began to sever the connection.
"Wait."
Cangba Dao cried out at once, "I agree!"
"Fine."
The Fengdu Deceitful King laughed.
BUZZ!
The next moment, the connection was broken.
CRACK! CRACK!
The strange Communication Jade Scroll in Cangba Dao’s hand turned to dust and scattered.
"Tsk, tsk..."
Xu Qing shook his head. ’I can’t believe that even now, the former Marquis of Cangzhou, Cangba Dao, hasn’t given up on his ambitions. To think he’d actually conspire with the Fengdu Deceitful King.’
One could only say that the former Marquis of Cangzhou’s judgment had been clouded by greed. He had made such an unwise choice, and to top it all off, Wang Miao had recorded the entire exchange.
"Wang Miao, how did you manage to record all of this?"
Xu Qing asked.
"Reporting to you, My Lord. In truth, from the moment you made me the Lord of Cangzhou, I sensed that something was off about Cangba Dao. He was extremely unwilling to see me take that position. If it weren’t for your power, he surely would have turned on me then and there."
Wang Miao continued, "So, I had my master, the Dark Demon King, keep an eye on him. And sure enough, yesterday we discovered his malicious intent."
"I ask for your judgment, My Lord."
Wang Miao bowed deeply.
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded slightly. "Go and summon Golden Cicada and the others. Have everyone gather in the great hall. This matter must indeed be resolved."
"Yes."
Wang Miao bowed respectfully.
「Half an hour later.」
Inside the great hall.
At this moment, Golden Cicada, Guanglingzi, Ye Qiuming, the Cangxian Daoist, Deng Chunqiu, and Cangba Dao—the six top-tier experts—had all arrived in the great hall.
In addition to them,
there were other powerful figures, mostly the leaders of great families and major factions. Every one of them had reached the level of a Venerable Ultimate.
"What on earth happened?"
"I don’t know."
"Why were we all suddenly summoned here?"
"..."
Within the great hall,
the crowd was abuzz with discussion.
"Everyone, please look."
At the front, Wang Miao suddenly appeared. With a wave of his right hand, he produced a projection jade stone and immediately projected scene after scene into the middle of the hall for all to see.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
In the projection,
was the scene of Cangba Dao’s deal with the Fengdu Deceitful King. The recording was complete, capturing everything from beginning to end.
"What?"
HISS...
"This... this..."
"How is this possible!?"
"Cangba Dao, you... you... you actually made a deal with the Fengdu Deceitful King to harm the Lord of Cangzhou?"
"How could you do such a thing?"
"And even... use the people of Cang Province as bargaining chips?"
"..."
Shock.
Disbelief.
Utter astonishment.
No one could have imagined it.
That the great Marquis of Cangzhou would make such a deal with the Fengdu Deceitful King.
"You... you..."
Cangba Dao’s eyes widened, his face a mask of disbelief. He couldn’t fathom how he had been spied on without him noticing a thing.
"Cangba Dao."
Wang Miao’s tone was calm as his gaze fell upon Cangba Dao. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Slander!"
Cangba Dao snapped. "This is a fake!"
"Heh..."
Wang Miao sneered. "How ridiculous. This is a projection jade stone. Anyone here can inspect it. It’s impossible to fake."
"Cangba Dao."
"You’re quite the ambitious one, aren’t you? Making a deal with the Fengdu Deceitful King, plotting to harm me, and even planning to become the next Lord of Cangzhou."
"But I’m afraid your ambitions don’t stop there. Becoming the Lord of Cangzhou is just the beginning, isn’t it? You probably want to declare yourself a king, establish your own kingdom, and vie for dominion over the world."
Around them,
the icy gazes of Golden Cicada and the others were already fixed on Cangba Dao.
Involuntarily, the crowd began to close in and surround him.
"Wang Miao, you... you..."
A hint of panic appeared on Cangba Dao’s face.
BOOM!
The next instant, an explosion erupted.
Without the slightest hesitation,
Cangba Dao knew he had no way to defend himself. The crowd would never believe him. It was unbelievable, but it was the truth.
And so,
Cangba Dao let out a roar, unleashing the terrifying Power of Laws in a massive blast. His entire body transformed into an Extreme Escape Light, vanishing into space in an attempt to flee.
In truth,
under the circumstances, Golden Cicada and the others could have intercepted Cangba Dao. But the six of them had known each other for so long that they couldn’t bring themselves to act.
This hesitation gave Cangba Dao the opening he needed to escape.
SWISH!
Cangba Dao transformed into an Extreme, blood-black Escape Light and vanished into space. In a mere instant, he would be able to flee Cangzhou Prefecture.
It had to be known,
Cangba Dao was, after all, one of the Array Masters who had set up the Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array. He could draw upon its power to augment himself.
Therefore,
in all of Cangzhou Prefecture,
aside from Xu Qing and Wang Miao, only Golden Cicada and the other four had enough strength to stop him. No one else was his match.
CRACK! CRACK!
The next moment, Xu Qing’s figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He stood high in the sky, item after item of Level 40 quality materializing around him, forming a Twelve-layered Law Domain.
Then,
countless Law Chains shot out like Jiaomang, plunging into space and locking onto Cangba Dao. With the force of a landslide, they crushed his various Divine Techniques and bound him tightly.
"AHHH!!!"
A scream echoed.
Cangba Dao coughed up blood and plummeted from the sky. Even channeling the power of the Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array was useless; he was simply no match for Xu Qing.
The difference in their power was strikingly obvious.
"Master Ouyazi..."
Cangba Dao crashed into the plaza outside the great hall, carving out a deep crater. He spat out blood, his face pale. Bound by the chains, he was completely immobilized and powerless to resist.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!!!
All around,
the crowd from the great hall rushed out. They saw Cangba Dao’s miserable state, and at the same time, they saw Xu Qing standing in the void with his hands behind his back.
"We pay our respects to Master Ouyazi."
"Master Ouyazi, to think this matter would alarm even you."
"..."
Golden Cicada and the others said one after another.
"Golden Cicada."
Xu Qing’s gaze was indifferent as he swept it over them. He spoke in a low, heavy voice, "There were five of you here, and you still let Cangba Dao escape. Are you all useless?"