Futile Devices Scans

Chen Yixin and Wenren Li stayed in the small courtyard arranged by Zhu Yan for ten days before someone finally arrived from the Nine Sovereigns Hall.

Zhu Yan’s public explanation was that the Young Master of Myriad Immortals Pavilion had personally arrived, leaving him unable to spare any attention elsewhere. As a result, the other side sent over invitation cards for a banquet at Nine Sovereigns Hall—one for Zhu Yan, and another for Chen Yixin, the newly emerged Young Master of Myriad Immortals Pavilion.

“What are your thoughts, Young Master?” Zhu Yan asked with a slight bow, though he stood noticeably farther away from Chen Yixin than before.

To be honest, he had no objection to Chen Yixin becoming his Young Master, but he was far from unfamiliar with Chen Yixin. Even now, people frequently came to Myriad Immortals Pavilion seeking information about Chen Yixin and Wenren Li’s whereabouts, hoping to obtain clues from him and claim the generous rewards offered by the Ten Emperors and Nine Clans.

There had even been people within Myriad Immortals Pavilion who proposed taking on that business themselves, but Zhu Yan had immediately rejected the suggestion. Those people had never met Chen Yixin. As far as the brutality rankings among Upper Realm Immortal Lords were concerned, Zhu Yan firmly believed Chen Yixin stood near the very top.

No matter how much money Myriad Immortals Pavilion wanted to make, provoking Chen Yixin was out of the question. At most, they could continue doing what they had always done—selling information about Chen Yixin’s battle records and killings.

That fear had persisted from thirty thousand years ago until now. Toward Chen Yixin, Zhu Yan felt not only respect but also fear, especially when Wenren Li was absent.

“Of course we’re going,” Chen Yixin replied, setting the invitation aside and propping up his chin with one hand. “While you’re at it, find out exactly who else he has invited.”

After Zhu Yan left, Chen Yixin returned to what he had been doing before. His fingers circled and twisted through the air as flashes of red light flickered around them. Yet whenever Wenren Li or anyone else paid attention to him, he would immediately stop and resume the appearance of someone thoughtfully resting his chin in contemplation.

Wenren Li had noticed that Chen Yixin was working on something, but Chen Yixin clearly intended to keep it from him. Coupled with the adorable expression he wore whenever Wenren Li looked his way, all Wenren Li could do was indulge him.

Two days later came the day of the banquet at Nine Sovereigns Hall. Zhu Yan had already completed everything Chen Yixin and Wenren Li had instructed him to do. As for the rest, they could only adapt according to circumstances.

Zhu Yan waited outside with several subordinates carrying a sedan chair, but Chen Yixin dawdled inside for quite some time before finally emerging. He entered the sedan alone, and soon their group of a little over ten people vanished from the Myriad Immortals Pavilion branch in the immortal city.

They traveled first to the city’s teleportation point and then onward to the Imperial Capital. In less than half an hour, they had crossed several million li from the distant immortal city to the Imperial Capital. Another half hour later, they arrived before the Nine Sovereigns Hall at the city’s center.

This city was called the Imperial Capital not because of Jiu Yu, but because it had originally been the capital of an ancient immortal kingdom. Though that kingdom had long since fallen, the capital remained, and many aspects of its architectural style still preserved traces of the ancient dynasty.

Fearing Chen Yixin might grow bored during the journey, Zhu Yan continuously provided explanations from outside the sedan.

Chen Yixin paid him no attention, but neither did he stop him. After all, the newly emerged Young Master of Myriad Immortals Pavilion was not necessarily supposed to know these things. Only after they entered the grounds of Nine Sovereigns Hall did Zhu Yan finally stop talking.

A servant from Nine Sovereigns Hall moved forward to lift the sedan curtain for Chen Yixin, but Zhu Yan waved him away.

“This…” The servant looked embarrassed but had no intention of giving up. Though he no longer approached physically, his immortal sense swept toward the interior of the sedan. He was unwilling to rest until he confirmed Chen Yixin’s identity. Such rude conduct was practically a hallmark of Nine Sovereigns Hall.

A muffled groan sounded immediately afterward. The servant collapsed backward, his soul scorched to the brink of shattering. If no one rescued him, the injury would spread from soul to body, and even if he survived, he would become a crippled fool.

“My father was right. There really are more fools than anything else in this world.”

Chen Yixin’s playful voice drifted out from inside the sedan. Only then did Zhu Yan step forward and lift the curtain.

Chen Yixin sat upright within the sedan, the smile on his face as pure and clear as ever. Yet he casually raised a hand and pointed toward the servant once more.

Even if the servant had already been reduced to an idiot, offending Chen Yixin was enough reason that he could not be allowed to continue living.

“At such a young age, yet you strike with such ruthlessness. Do your elders know of this?”

A pale blue skirt drifted down from the sky. A woman appeared and intercepted Chen Yixin’s attack on the servant. Even so, she let out a muffled grunt and staggered back two steps. Though she did not cough blood, she had still been injured.

She felt both shock and anger. But at that moment, Chen Yixin raised his hand again and pointed once more. This time he was no longer targeting the servant—the attack was directed openly at her.

She was Imperial Daughter Lan Xin, the woman who lacked only a final formal acknowledgment to become the mistress of Nine Sovereigns Hall.

“How dare you!” Lan Xin instinctively raised both hands and cast defensive techniques. Yet despite her cultivation as a Ninth-Rank Immortal Lord, she was clearly no match for Chen Yixin. If his attack landed, her injuries would only worsen.

“Xin’er, step back.”

A voice sounded from afar. Lan Xin was pulled away, and a stream of silver-gray divine power collided with Chen Yixin’s attack. The two forces canceled each other out. Though Lan Xin escaped unharmed, the lingering fear in her eyes deepened into outright alarm as she stared at Chen Yixin.

Jiu Yu had personally intervened, yet he had merely neutralized the attack instead of severely injuring the red-clad youth who appeared barely out of adolescence.

“Half-Step Immortal Emperor Realm, nearing perfection…”

Jiu Yu walked forward from the end of the path. Dressed in flowing white robes, he appeared extraordinarily elegant, yet his blazing gaze remained fixed upon Chen Yixin. There was astonishment in that gaze—but even more than that, delight.

“If Father had not insisted I was still too young, then this Nine Sovereigns Hall would already belong to me.”

That explanation neatly accounted for why Chen Yixin possessed cultivation at the Half-Step Immortal Emperor Realm yet had never participated in the Upper Realm’s Immortal Emperor War. Evidently, he had been hidden away by the father he spoke of.

“You stole my Nine Sovereigns Hall, and now you dare set your sights on my Myriad Immortals Pavilion as well. You truly have the guts of a dog!”

As he spoke, Chen Yixin stepped out of the sedan chair. With a flick of his right hand, a crimson whip appeared in his grasp. Judging by his demeanor, he had come to wreak havoc in Nine Sovereigns Hall while simultaneously finding fault with its current occupant.

“How outrageous!” Whatever Jiu Yu was thinking remained unclear, but Imperial Daughter Lan Xin was thoroughly enraged. The gentleness of her features twisted slightly with fury, making her look particularly intimidating. To Chen Yixin, however, she only looked especially ugly.

“Ugly hag, I’ll deal with him first, then I’ll deal with you.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Yixin swung the red whip and charged forward. When he said he intended to teach Jiu Yu a lesson, he truly meant it.

Having swept through the Upper Realm unchecked, Jiu Yu naturally felt no fear. He leaped into the air as well, and the two began exchanging divine arts high above.

Lan Xin looked up, her expression gradually settling as she waited to see Chen Yixin taught a lesson instead. Zhu Yan, meanwhile, was completely dumbfounded. Chen Yixin was not following the plan they had agreed upon at all. They had only just arrived, and he had already started fighting Jiu Yu directly.

Of course, he did not reveal his panic. While keeping a close eye on the battle, he frantically considered possible countermeasures.

Yet after a full half hour had passed, Chen Yixin and Jiu Yu remained evenly matched.

Jiu Yu had not used his full strength, while Chen Yixin had deliberately suppressed his cultivation to the Half-Step Immortal Emperor Realm. The reason he remained undefeated was because of the vast number of divine arts he had mastered and the flexibility with which he employed them. No matter what divine art Jiu Yu used, Chen Yixin could counter it.

At the same time, striking Jiu Yu was equally difficult, and so the battle reached a stalemate.

At last, Zhu Yan—who had not been informed beforehand of Chen Yixin’s intentions—finally reacted. He raised his voice and shouted, “Young Master, do not forget the instructions my lord gave you before you came!” A piece of immortal jade was clenched in his hand as though he might crush it at any moment.

Chen Yixin glanced down at Zhu Yan, then glared at Jiu Yu once more. His arms spread slightly as he slowly descended back beside the sedan chair.

Looking toward Jiu Yu, he raised an eyebrow. Part of the crimson whip dissolved into scarlet arrow-feathers. He had only completed half the motion of drawing a bow when the red feather-arrow shot toward Jiu Yu.

Several locking formation patterns appeared around the descending Jiu Yu. Chen Yixin had secretly left them behind during their earlier exchange of divine arts. There was no avoiding the incoming arrow.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion erupted.

Everything around Jiu Yu was caught in the blast. The great gates of Nine Sovereigns Hall behind him shattered completely under the pressure released by the crimson feather’s aura. Naturally, the plaque bearing the three characters Nine Sovereigns Hall, which Chen Yixin found particularly offensive, was destroyed along with it.

Only then did the smile on Chen Yixin’s face become genuinely satisfied.

He paced about leisurely, admiring the result of his handiwork. As for the immortal guards who had already surrounded him and Zhu Yan, he ignored them entirely.

Before the collapsed gates stood Jiu Yu, completely unharmed. However, the ease that had previously colored his expression had vanished. It was not the destruction of the gate that concerned him, but the realization that the Immortal Emperor behind Chen Yixin must be no ordinary figure to have cultivated such a formidable disciple.

His plans for tonight’s banquet would need some adjustment.

At the very least, he could not kill these two within the Imperial Capital.

Once Jiu Yu reached that conclusion, the faint smile returned to his face. Though he was a demon of the utmost evil, he dressed himself up to appear more immortal than anyone else.

“Well then… has your anger subsided?”

Jiu Yu lifted a hand to stop Lan Xin, who was about to speak. Looking at Chen Yixin with an expression of boundless tolerance, he truly resembled Wenren Li. At least, Zhu Yan found it difficult to distinguish between them.

Chen Yixin had been somewhat appeased before, but seeing that expression directed at him only made him even angrier.

Lifting his chin, he turned away and climbed back into the sedan chair.

“I’m tired. Find a place for me to rest.”

Chen Yixin refused to play along with him in the slightest.

Though surprised, Jiu Yu found himself unable to feel much resentment. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the immortal guards to withdraw, then nodded toward a steward and instructed him to arrange suitable accommodations for Chen Yixin.

The sedan chair disappeared down a corridor before Jiu Yu finally withdrew his gaze.

Only then could Lan Xin no longer contain herself.

“Your Excellency, why?”

Chen Yixin had humiliated both her and Jiu Yu in front of the gates, yet he had been let off so lightly.

“Interesting people naturally cannot be treated the same way as others. Do not interfere in matters concerning the Young Master of Myriad Immortals Pavilion.”

When Jiu Yu spoke in that tone, Lan Xin did not dare make a scene despite her unwillingness. Slowly suppressing the anger in her heart, she wrapped herself around Jiu Yu’s arm.

“This concubine understands. I was merely angry that he dared offend Your Excellency.”

By the end of her sentence, her voice trembled slightly.

The cause was Chen Yixin.

His divine sense swept toward them, seeming as though it wanted to burn Lan Xin’s arm to ashes. This was already the result of considerable restraint. Otherwise, he truly wanted to burn both of their souls away and reclaim the portion of Wenren Li’s remains that rightfully belonged to him.

Jiu Yu raised his gaze and was just about to look in that direction when Chen Yixin’s divine sense vanished completely.

Even the courtyard where Chen Yixin was staying had already been covered in barriers, preventing any investigation.

Jiu Yu pulled his arm free from Lan Xin’s embrace, which seemed ready to break from the pressure, and a faint smile curved his lips. Before Lan Xin could voice any complaints, he disappeared from where he stood.

Meanwhile, in the guest courtyard of Nine Sovereigns Hall, Chen Yixin looked as though he were about to explode with rage.

“Ahhh! How dare they…!”

The way they were defiling Wenren Li’s remains was enough to drive him mad.

“You go stand guard outside. I… need to stay angry a little longer.”

Otherwise, once he reached the banquet later, he would have even less control over himself.

Wearing a worried expression, Zhu Yan left.

Chen Yixin flopped onto the bed. A tiny crimson-feathered bird doll appeared in his palm. He rubbed against it repeatedly.

“A-Li, A-Li, I want to chop both their arms off.”

Once Chen Yixin’s jealousy flared up, he could not even spare Wenren Li’s remains from being caught in the crossfire.

The crimson-feathered bird in his arms remained completely motionless, looking devoid of any spiritual energy. Yet before arriving today, Chen Yixin had employed a beauty trap. While Wenren Li was caught off guard, he had sealed him inside.

Using feathers from the Vermilion Bird clan, he had woven this doll to conceal Wenren Li’s aura. As a result, however, Wenren Li could not make the slightest movement before Chen Yixin took action. Otherwise, Jiu Yu—who was only a stone’s throw away—would immediately sense his presence.

Thus, even if Wenren Li wanted to comfort Chen Yixin at this moment, he could not.

But his very existence was Chen Yixin’s greatest comfort.

After rubbing against the doll for a while, Chen Yixin gradually regained his composure.

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