In short, he wanted Xiang Zhen to help put in a good word.
But he had just made the other party state his position, made him declare neutrality, made him declare he would not help either side. To turn around and slap his own face in the blink of an eye, plus the fact that he had previously betrayed the other party, the words of begging were truly a bit hard to say. But since it concerned the life and death of Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, he had no choice but to open his mouth and beg. “Brother Xiang, misunderstanding, misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding.” His hands repeatedly made soothing gestures, afraid that the other side in a moment of impulse would instantly strangle Old Seven and Old Nine to death.
Xiang Lanxuan behind him rolled her eyes, unable to resist despising the Tanhua scholar.
Xiang Zhen was still speechless, but that expression and reaction seemed to say, what use is it telling me it is a misunderstanding?
The man in the flowery robe was also staring at Yu Qing, sizing him up repeatedly. Only now did he ask, “Brother Xiang, is this little beard the one you said wanted to compete?” Xiang Zhen did not hide it. “Yes.”
Yu Qing immediately cupped his hands towards the Bee King and said, “Your Majesty, this is a misunderstanding. We can discuss anything. Can you first release my two brothers?” The man in the flowery robe stared at him and asked, “Was the pollen poisoning your doing?”
This question was somewhat sharp, not easy to answer. Yu Qing could only be vague. “What poisoning?” The man in the flowery robe’s nostrils flared. He smelled a trace of burning smoke and gave a cold snort. He also did not dwell on this question. Now was not the time to argue about this. He said calmly, “I can release them, as long as you go out and extinguish the fire outside, and beat back those people outside, I will naturally release them.”
The current situation was, to him, somewhat of a pleasant surprise. Previously when he came over he had been thinking about how to persuade these people. He had not expected the other side to voluntarily deliver two hostages over, and it looked like they cared quite a bit about these two hostages. Since it was so, then these two hostages could not be easily killed. He raised his hand to signal. A Qing and A Lan put down the two people in their hands, loosened their necks, giving the two a chance to breathe, but did not completely release them, still keeping them under control.
“We beat back those people outside?” Yu Qing pointed at his own group, his face full of astonishment as he asked in return, “If we had that ability, would we still have been forced by them to flee here? Your Majesty, for you, wiping out those people outside is not something done with a lift of the hand?”
The man in the flowery robe asked him in return, “If this king could do it with a lift of the hand, would I still need you to act? Would I still sit and watch people run to the immortal palace to set fire?” “You…” Yu Qing stared at him with alarm and uncertainty, really wanting to ask what was wrong with him.
The man in the flowery robe said, “Stop playing dumb. You yourself used the pollen to poison, and still dare to barge in here. Do you not know what is going on? Do you still need to ask me?”
“This…” Yu Qing pointed at the two enchanting women, wanting to ask whether these two were not poisoned, but it was hard to ask. If he asked, would that not be admitting that he was the one who poisoned them?
The man in the flowery robe said, “What? Still want to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, want to see this king and the outside fight to mutual destruction before coming out to pick up the bargain?” Yu Qing waved his hands repeatedly, “How would we dare? We dare not! Your Majesty, it is not that we do not agree, but we truly do not have that ability. For us to go fight those people outside is no different from sending ourselves to death. Are you not forcing us to die?”
The man in the flowery robe raised his chin towards Xiang Lanxuan, “Is she a decoration? Her cultivation should not differ much from that white-haired old man’s. She should have the strength to fight him. This king is not so blind that I cannot even see this.” “Her? Your Majesty, please see clearly. She really is a decoration.” Yu Qing directly reached out, pinched the back of Xiang Lanxuan’s neck, and like grabbing a little chick, pulled her to the front. “She was already beaten into serious injury by that white-haired old man, nearly lost her life, hid east and west and ran into our hands, and was captured by us. She cannot even beat me now. Any one of us here can knock her down. Relying on her to fight the white-haired old man would definitely lead all of us into a pit. If Your Majesty does not believe, you can check.” Seeing Xiang Lanxuan being carried like a three-year-old child, not to mention others, even the man in the flowery robe was somewhat dumbfounded.
He naturally already knew from Xiang Zhen’s mouth that Xiang Lanxuan was a big shot from the outside world. Who would have thought she had already fallen to such a state of being bullied and manipulated by others. The reason he brought people to find them was not because he expected Yu Qing to help him win. He came for Xiang Lanxuan’s strength. He had not expected it to be a mistake.
Xiang Lanxuan, being grabbed and toyed with, stared at Yu Qing out of the corner of her eye. The meaning of her gritting her teeth in hatred was very obvious, but she did not make a sound.
The man in the flowery robe’s nostrils flared again. The smoke was getting thicker. One could guess that the fire outside was getting bigger. He could no longer delay. He said decisively, “Since it is so, then follow this king out to face them together and help this king. You have no choice!”
His thinking was very simple. Regardless of whether these people had ability, regardless of whether what was said was true or false, they all had to go out together. Once exposed, whether willing or not, as long as they fought with those outside, they would all be fighting to defend the immortal palace. After speaking, he turned and strode away. Regardless of whether he had confidence in this trip, he could not sit and watch.
A Qing immediately handed Mu Aotie in her hands to A Lan. A Lan grabbed two people and turned to follow the man in the flowery robe and leave together. A Qing stared at Yu Qing and the others with tiger-like vigilance. The meaning was obvious. Are you going out to face those people outside, or are you going to fight me now?
Elder Qu and the others under the tree raised their heads to stare at the tree trunk above. They also saw two Kunling Mountain disciples jump down from the tree and fly to land beside them. Without the interference of countless bee swarms inside the divine tree, the disciples trapped inside gradually found exits and escaped. It was just that each and every one of them looked utterly exhausted, their clothes in tatters, with bloody cuts all over their bodies. This was nothing. The most important thing was that they were in unbearable pain. The moment they came out, they all begged Elder Qu for help. But Elder Qu was also powerless. He truly had no method of rescue. He could only temporarily let them endure it themselves.
Boom!
Suddenly a powerful wave of energy surged out from the tree cave ahead, firelight shot in all directions, the wall of fire burning ahead instantly collapsed, burning debris shot out like meteors, exploding outwards. Elder Qu was greatly alarmed. Together with two Kunling Mountain disciples of the Shangxuan realm to his left and right, they waved their sleeves and pushed with their palms together, resisting with all their might. Boom! Under the impact of energy, another thunderous sound rang out. The flowers and plants on the ground were uprooted and sent flying. The three stood firm and unmoving, but saw two human figures coming through the waves one after another, arriving in an instant. Elder Qu and the other two were greatly alarmed, because they felt the extraordinary speed of the attackers’ strikes, and hastily counterattacked.
“That old man is useful.”
A shout urgently emerged. It was Yu Qing’s voice.
Several thunderous clashes. Elder Qu’s feet ploughed through the ground, creating a deep trench before he braced one leg backwards to stop his sliding figure, blood spraying from his mouth. He was still considered lucky. When A Qing, who had struck out, clashed with him head-on, she heard Yu Qing’s voice and temporarily held back some force. The other two Kunling Mountain Shangxuan cultivators were already spurting blood wildly as they flew out, crashing to the ground and vomiting blood. Their bodies could not even be considered moving, only slightly twitching. Each one stared with bloodshot eyeballs, their breathing intermittent. Even though before entering here, people of their level had been told by their sect to be prepared not to return, at this moment their faces and eyes still revealed terror and unwillingness.
A Qing and A Lan struck out together, the type that killed whoever they saw. In terms of cultivation, the two women were also Gaoxuan realm cultivators. Three Shangxuan cultivators suddenly facing two Gaoxuan cultivators launching an all-out surprise attack, under a frontal impact, how could they possibly block it? Elder Qu’s whole body trembled. He watched with wide eyes as A Qing flew to his front and reached out to grab him. His eyes were full of terror. He wanted to flee, but the residual force of the heavy blow his body had suffered had not yet dissipated. He was unexpectedly unable to dodge, and just like that was dumbly grabbed by A Qing’s claw and carried away.
Behind the gap in the extinguished fire wall, a group of people came out. The one floating out in front was the man in the flowery robe. He did not dare use his cultivation recklessly, but his realm had truly reached an extraordinary level. This simple floating was already a kind of control over external force, not much related to internal cultivation. In Xiang Zhen’s hands, each hand held one person. They were precisely Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. The man in the flowery robe had handed the two to him. One reason was to have him help, and he also had another explanation for Xiang Zhen. If they could get through this hurdle, wanting to compete with Yu Qing, whether these two were in hand was crucial.
Yu Qing’s hand was grabbing Qin Fujun, with his sword still placed across Qin Fujun’s neck. It was not that he wanted to kill Qin Fujun, but under the circumstances at this moment, small fry like them still felt that having a hostage in hand would be safer. Qin Fujun herself was already instantly shedding tears like a spring. She saw two Kunling Mountain disciples with extremely high cultivation talent fall to the ground spurting blood. She saw an elder severely injured and captured. She watched it happen with her own eyes, yet was powerless. Not to mention moving, she could not even make a sound. She could only cry silently.
Baili Xin pulled out Xiang Lanxuan, her gaze looking around. Under such complex circumstances, she was somewhat uneasy. To the left and right of the fire wall gap, there were still Kunling Mountain disciples setting fire. Those on both sides were stunned to see this scene. After coming back to their senses, they immediately fled desperately. A Lan’s figure flashed, like light smoke dispersing, chasing after them to kill. Although she had not cultivated any killing techniques, her cultivation was here. How could those Kunling Mountain Chuxuan disciples block the all-out pursuit of a Gaoxuan cultivator like her? One force overcomes ten techniques. Whoever she caught up with died. She quickly circled the divine tree and struck out, the type that showed no mercy, with the mentality that even ants dared to rebel. There was also hatred. These people had killed too many of her kin. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was in the hundreds of millions. These outsiders, in the eyes of the man in the flowery robe and the others, were originally as weak as ants. If they had not been targeted at their weak spot and poisoned, they would not even have the qualification to hop about before them, let alone the current scene of burning devastation.
Huan Yushan, looking down from high in the air, was naturally also startled by the commotion below. In alarm and uncertainty, he urgently dived down like a shooting star rushing towards the ground. Whoosh! The figure landed, shock waves scattering in all directions. Huan Yushan saw the captured Elder Qu, and also saw the two Shangxuan cultivators who had fallen dead. His heart ached terribly. How difficult it was for a sect to produce a Shangxuan cultivator. That was the confidence for a great sect’s future continuation. But at this moment none of that mattered. As A Lan, who had circled the divine tree once, swished back to the man in the flowery robe’s side, his gaze fixed heavily on the Bee King, and terror appeared in his eyes. In an instant, several Shangxuan cultivators were annihilated, and his manpower was swept away like rotten wood. The strength was obvious. How could this look like someone who had fallen into a trap?
Under the divine tree, the fire he had ordered lit was still burning fiercely, and getting bigger and bigger. How could he be relaxed at this moment facing the Bee King? His gaze fixed on Yu Qing, raising his hand to point. His beard and hair all spread out, his eyes showing grief and indignation, he said in a hoarse voice, “Dog Tanhua, you actually dared to scheme against this old man!”
For someone of his cultivation and refinement to publicly curse “Dog Tanhua,” one could see how resentful he was. He felt he had fallen into A Qing’s trap, felt that A Qing had tricked them, that the Bee King side had not actually fallen into any trap at all, and felt that A Qing was using someone else’s knife to kill.
A Qing felt very wronged. She opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping. She had wanted to ask whether the other side was blind, had wanted to remind them to look clearly, that his people were also being held hostage. But the words that reached her mouth were ultimately swallowed back, because she realised that even if she explained clearly it would be useless. This time, regardless of which side won, she estimated she would not have a good outcome. This time she could only accept her bad luck. Rather than spend energy explaining, she might as well plan how to escape danger.
Yu Qing, on the other hand, remained calm and composed. His cold gaze sometimes coldly sized up this group, sometimes sized up Elder Qu’s side. He roughly understood the misunderstanding before his eyes.