stjorthotic Chapter 475: The Meridian Gate’s Prison Cage, Xuanyuan Qing’s Provocation
Chapter 475: The Meridian Gate’s Prison Cage, Xuanyuan Qing’s Provocation
Gu Yuexi’s elegant brows furrowed tightly.
This cage was far from simple.
It wasn’t a simple construct of Energy. It contained an extremely rare and tyrannical Power of Law.
Just then, a cheerful voice called out from nearby.
"Heh, so you’ve finally arrived."
Gu Yuexi turned her head.
A slender young man was strolling toward them. He wore a long white robe and had a refined air, but his features held a hint of sinister effeminacy.
He seemed to have expected Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng’s arrival, showing no surprise whatsoever.
Gu Yuexi stared at him coldly. "Who are you?"
The young man maintained a placid smile and said nonchalantly,
"I am Xuanyuan Qing."
"I came to inform Miss Gu of something. The reason these two are being punished has nothing to do with you, Miss Gu. It is purely because they spoke insolently to my Xuanyuan Family. Thus, they are merely being taught a small lesson."
"I made a special trip today to tell you this so that you won’t have any misunderstandings, Miss Gu. The Xuanyuan Family has no opinion of you or this... Mosquito Beast by your side."
Chu Sheng scoffed internally.
’Some "small lesson."’
’Caging people like animals and humiliating them in public is a trivial matter to this guy?’
This Xuanyuan Qing fellow spoke with a consistently condescending tone, as if he were born innately superior to everyone else.
Gu Yuexi’s gaze grew colder.
"Whether or not it has anything to do with me... is that for you, or rather, the Xuanyuan Family, to decide?"
"Did you set up this cage of Law?"
Xuanyuan Qing maintained his placid demeanor, shaking his head with a chuckle.
"Heh, you must be joking, Miss Gu. I certainly don’t have such an ability. This cage was merely set up offhandedly by an old servant of my family."
’An old servant could casually set up a cage of Law that not even someone at the Emperor Realm could break?’
’The Xuanyuan Family’s resources truly are unfathomable.’
Gu Yuexi looked him straight in the eye.
"And what if I say I’m making this my business?"
The smile on Xuanyuan Qing’s face didn’t falter, but now it was tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible scorn.
"Please don’t be angry, Miss Gu. As I said, I’m only here to inform you of the situation. As for what you choose to do, that is entirely up to you."
"You’re welcome to try."
With that, he took a deliberate step back and made a "please" gesture.
...
Xuanyuan Qing’s smug, fearless demeanor infuriated Chu Sheng.
The man had acted politely and courteously from the start, but he couldn’t hide the arrogance and contempt that were etched into his very bones.
It was as if, in the eyes of the Xuanyuan Family, everyone and everything in the world was just a plaything to be toyed with at their whim.
After stepping back, Xuanyuan Qing extended a finger, pointing toward the base of the city tower.
"Unlocking this cage isn’t actually that difficult."
"You just need the fire over there to burn through the lock over here."
"And have the water over there drip through the stone over here. That’s all."
Hearing this, Chu Sheng immediately looked in the direction he was pointing.
Only then did he notice two bizarre scenes on either side of the tower’s base, which had appeared at some unknown time.
To the left was a fist-sized flame of an eerie, purplish-black color.
The flame burned silently, emitting no heat or light, yet it seemed to consume everything around it.
Directly above the flame floated an ancient bronze lock.
To the right, there was a perfectly ordinary-looking bluestone.
Above the bluestone, a single, crystal-clear water droplet hovered. It held its form, slowly falling, drop by drop, onto the stone below.
DRIP. DRIP.
The sound was clearly audible.
’Looking at this scene, Chu Sheng couldn’t help but feel it was familiar, as if he’d seen it somewhere before.’
’Fire to burn the lock, water to wear away the stone.’
’As long as the fire burns through the lock and the water wears through the stone, Shen Yixuan and Luo Qingyu can get out?’
But when Chu Sheng looked closer, he saw that even though the purplish-black flame was constantly burning the bronze lock, the lock itself showed no signs of change, remaining just as ancient-looking as before.
On the other side, although the crystalline water droplets fell continuously, the bluestone was also completely unscathed. It didn’t even have a single wet spot.
’At this rate, forget ten days—it probably wouldn’t work even in ten years, or a hundred.’
’This isn’t a punishment! They’re trying to trap Shen Yixuan and Luo Qingyu here until they die!’
Seeing the expressions on Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng’s faces change, the smile on Xuanyuan Qing’s lips widened.
"Quite a few teachers from your academy have already tried, but what a pity, none have succeeded. If you’re interested, Miss Gu, you’re also welcome to give it a try."
BUZZ!
’Try my ass!’
Chu Sheng couldn’t take it anymore.
He hated people who were deliberately cryptic and beat around the bush.
He couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on this Xuanyuan Qing.
’To hell with this cage, to hell with this Law. If I just kill the person who set all this up, won’t that solve everything?!’
The moment the thought surfaced, Chu Sheng no longer hesitated!
With a flicker, he activated Instant Teleportation, his body vanishing from Gu Yuexi’s shoulder in a flash!
A millisecond later, he reappeared right in front of Xuanyuan Qing!
His incredible Speed gave his opponent absolutely no chance to react!
Chu Sheng launched his Attack without hesitation!
Yet, facing this sudden, fatal blow—one that could instantly kill any expert at the Peak of King Realm—Xuanyuan Qing’s face showed no trace of panic.
He seemed to have anticipated Chu Sheng’s attack.
The smile on his lips didn’t even waver.
"Heh."
A soft chuckle escaped him.
The instant Chu Sheng’s Attack was about to land, Xuanyuan Qing’s figure began to turn illusory, like a reflection in water.
Then, right before Chu Sheng’s eyes, it faded into a faint afterimage and slowly dissipated into thin air.
Before he vanished completely, the scornful smile on his lips was still clearly visible.
...
BUZZ!
’Damn it, just a coward!’
Chu Sheng hovered in midair, rendered speechless.
’What a waste of effort.’
The guy’s real body had never been here in the first place.
The person standing here had just been a clone—or perhaps an illusion—that he had created with some sort of Secret Technique.
No wonder he had been so smug and provocative.
Since his real body wasn’t even here, there was no way to track him down.
’In that case, it seems the only option left is to break these two bizarre cages, huh?’
Chu Sheng flew back to Gu Yuexi’s side, feeling irritated.
Gu Yuexi, however, showed no emotional reaction to Xuanyuan Qing’s disappearance.
Her gaze had been fixed on the fire and water, the lock and stone, the entire time, her eyes glinting with contemplation.
「A moment later.」
She gave a cold snort, took a step forward, and walked toward one of the Light Cards.