When he arrived at Linglong Royal City, he had inquired about the general political situation within Royal City from the guards at the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation. From them, he had learned that other than Fairy Linglong, the two people that he should look out for were Conferred God King Shangguan Yunwan and Conferred God King Baiye Qinghong.
Those two of them could be considered equals, and each dominated over half of Royal City.
As one of the few ravishing female Conferred God Kings of the Firmament, she had many loyal and powerful followers pursuing her.
Zhang Xuan had thought that the shameless person who was trying to snatch his pill would just be a God King at the very most, but to think that it was a Conferred God King!
On second thought, however, it was not all that surprising for a Conferred God King to want to claim the Pill King for herself. Each God King Breakthrough Pill could potentially create a God King, and the Pill King’s effectiveness was far higher than that. If one used it sparingly, it could at least give rise to four additional God Kings!
Even Conferred God Kings would not be able to hold back their greed when there were great profits at stake!
Seeing that the other party finally knew of her identity, Baiye Qinghong placed her hands behind her back, putting on airs reminiscent of a queen. Glancing downward, she saw a weakened Fu Jiangchen flying over slowly.
He had expended all his energy earlier, but he was still able to swiftly recover a bit of his energy by consuming the pills he had with him.
“Fu Jiangchen pays respect to Conferred God King Baiye!”
Fu Jiangchen clasped his fist and bowed deeply, not daring to show the slightest breach in his etiquette.
Baiye Qinghong nodded slightly in response.
“The reason I called you here is so that you can clarify to everyone who the owner of this pill is. Am I the one who provided you with the medicinal herbs and pill formula to forge this pill?”
“This…” Fu Jiangchen’s face froze upon hearing those words. He anxiously glanced over at Zhang Xuan before biting his lips hesitantly, “Yes!”
“Apothecary Fu, you…”
Zhang Xuan did not think that Fu Jiangchen would betray him at this crucial moment. The way he addressed Fu Jiangchen also change back from Brother Fu to Apothecary Fu.
“Apothecary Zhang, it’s indeed true that Conferred God King Baiye is the one who instructed me to forge this pill. It’ll be best for you to step down and not cause a ruckus…”
“I’m causing a ruckus?” Trembling with rage, Zhang Xuan burst into laughter instead. Then, he shook his head. “It seems like the Sky of Linglong is ganging up against me for being an outsider.”
He had taken the Grass of God King there and paid a heavy price in order to have the pill successfully forged. Yet, they were now claiming otherwise?
It seemed like they were really taking advantage of his weakness in order to distort the truth to their advantage!
“Audacious! Conferred God King Baiye has magnanimously turned a blind eye to your insolence because you have accrued some merit capturing the pill, but instead of feeling grateful toward her, you continue to spout such brazen words. Are you asking to be killed?” Fu Jiangchen bellowed authoritatively.
Those words immediately caused Zhang Xuan’s rage to hit the roof, and right after, he heard Fu Jiangchen’s telepathic voice in his head.
“Brother Zhang, Conferred God King Baiye is too used to having her way. Even if I side with you, she’ll still likely try to make a move on you after you have left Linglong Royal City. If you really wish to go ahead with it, I can report the matter to Conferred God King Shangguan to have her judge this matter on our behalf, but ultimately, those two Conferred God Kings are equal in strength. If Conferred God King Baiye insists on having her way, there’s nothing we can do! I think it would be best for you to concede defeat…”
“You are saying that I should just let her do as she pleases?” Zhang Xuan sneered.
“There’s no way around it! That’s a Conferred God King; we don’t stand a chance! Even after she takes the Pill King, you still have the other four pills to use. If this goes on, I fear that she might resort to violence. By then, not only will you be walking out of here empty-handed, your life will be in danger!” Fu Jiangchen exclaimed worriedly.
There was a common saying that a normal citizen could never defeat an official in power. Baiye Qinghong was one of the rulers of Linglong Royal City, as well as a Conferred God King who boasted strength just beneath that of a God Monarch.
Knowing that there was no point arguing with Fu Jiangchen over this matter, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to Baiye Qinghong and asked with his chin tilted upward, “What if I refuse?”
As someone with his foundation based in the Sky of Linglong, Fu Jiangchen had far too many lives he had to consider before going against a Conferred God King, but that was not the case for Zhang Xuan!
It was true that the lady before him was ravishing, but what was the point of having such a beautiful appearance if what lay beneath was nothing more than a venomous heart?
He had hoped to keep a low profile so as to not cause too huge of a commotion, but this was one of the things that he simply could not tolerate. This was not the time to be thinking about remaining humble and low profile.
If he allowed it to happen this once, it would surely happen again and again.
It was time for him to let the others know that even though he, Zhang Xuan, had only arrived in the Firmament a month ago, he was not a person whom anyone could bully that easily!
“Conferred God King Baiye.” Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan’s rage swiftly cooled down as he gazed at Baiye Qinghong with cold, rational eyes. “I’ll give you a chance. Declare the truth and concede your mistake.”
“Despite knowing Conferred God King Baiye’s identity, he still dares to make such a bold statement? Is he insane?”
“He must be out of his mind!”
Those who were keeping a lookout on the situation exclaimed in shock.
“I have been polite to you so far out of consideration that you are a guest in our Sky of Linglong and that you have helped me capture my pill. However, you seem to be testing my patience. Did you think that I dare not make a move on you?” Baiye Qinghong gazed down at Zhang Xuan chillingly.
An indomitable pressure burst forth from her, shrouding the entire Linglong Royal City. The sky darkened, and the air turned incredibly heavy.
This pressure was felt by everyone within Linglong Royal City, but this was even more so for Zhang Xuan, whom this pressure was directed toward. His breathing became ragged as a result of that, and his zhenqi seemed to have frozen in place.
If not for the God King Sword in his grasp warding away some of the pressure, he might have plummeted from the sky.
This was a force that even real God Kings would not be able to withstand, let alone a high-tier Celestial God!
The powers of a Conferred God King were indeed frightening!
Zhang Xuan swiftly drove his Pathos of Heaven, and the pressure on him finally alleviated. He shook his head and remarked in pity, “I presented the opportunity to you, but you don’t know how to cherish it. There’s nothing else I can do then.”
Seeing how Zhang Xuan was still spouting such words when he was already standing right before death’s gates, Baiye Qinghong harrumphed coldly. “Humph, the arrogance of a person who doesn’t know his place!”
It had been far too long since the last time someone dared speak to her in such a manner.
She raised her hand to teach the young man before her a lesson, but before she could even move, her body suddenly stiffened in place.
An overwhelmingly powerful force had suddenly locked onto her, sealing her strength.
Shocked, she quickly raised her head, only to see a golden book floating quietly above her.
“What… is that?” Baiye Qinghong uttered.
The book that was floating above her actually left her with a feeling of deep trepidation. She felt as if a higher being had set its eyes on her, and she would not be able to retaliate or escape no matter what she tried.
It was as if her existence was being rejected by the heavens themselves.
“It’s just a book,” Zhang Xuan replied.
He did not want to resort to this, but he could not tolerate this anymore. He had given her a few chances to back down, and since she was not willing to turn back, there was no reason for him to show her mercy.
He knew that this move could very well offend Fairy Linglong, but he did not care that much anymore.
“You exploited your strength to oppress those weaker than you, and you display an absolute lack of regret and repentance in your actions. I can’t even begin to imagine what evil you have committed over the course of your long life. Since there is no one else to pass judgement upon you, I shall be the one to do so,” Zhang Xuan said with a grand wave of his arm.
Hong long!
With the sound reminiscent of a collapsing mountain, the Book of Heaven’s Path descended from the sky.
“N-no!”
Baiye Qinghong had thought that her opponent was just an ordinary high-tier Celestial God whom she could suppress with ease; never in her wildest dreams did she expect the other party to have such a powerful artifact with him.
She tried to gather her strength to stand against the golden page, but under the crushing weight of the book, her entire arm immediately fractured upon impact.
She could not even last a single breath.
