174: Chapter 174 A Clown

"What?! To actually take a direct blow from me and not die?!"

Seventh Prince Zhou Changyu also wore a look of shock.

You must know that when he encountered Baili Yunche in Burial Heaven Abyss back then, this person was merely at the Sixth Layer of Golden Core!

He never expected that two months later, he had already broken through to the Ninth Layer of Golden Core!

Immediately afterwards, thinking of his jiuyou ice flame, a raging fire instantly burned within his heart, and fire almost spewed from his eyes.

He must have refined the jiuyou ice flame to make the Breakthrough!

The expression of Seventh Prince Zhou Changyu was extremely ugly, and his heart was bleeding.

If that jiuyou ice flame had been refined by him back then, he might have already broken through to the Sixth Layer of Nascent Soul!

That was a Spiritual Fire of heaven and earth, a supreme treasure ranked ninety-ninth, yet it was snatched away by this detestable petty thief!

Thinking of this, the killing intent in his heart toward Baili Yunche became even more intense, wishing he could immediately chop him into ten thousand pieces, extract his soul and refine his essence, and snatch back the spiritual fire!

"Seventh Brother, what do you mean by this?!"

Crown Prince Zhou Changqing hurriedly stepped forward, blocking in front of Seventh Prince Zhou Changyu, and said in a deep voice:

"Fellow Daoist Baili is a Fellow Daoist I invited over to exchange Cultivate experience. For you to indiscriminately attack my guest like this, where does that leave this palace?"

Actually, his heart was also filled with extreme doubt.

Although Baili Yunche had offended Ji Kun and Ji Zhan, it should not be enough to make Seventh Brother make such a huge fuss, right?

Could there be some hidden story behind this?

Of course, he stepped out to speak not for Baili Yunche, but for his own Face.

After all, if the Seventh Prince were to kill Baili Yunche in his Eastern Palace, how would he account to the Xuanyang Sect? How would he account to the Cultivators of the world?

This would make everyone feel that he, the Crown Prince, could not even protect his guest, completely sweeping away his prestige.

This was something Crown Prince Zhou Changqing absolutely was unwilling to see.

"Just what on earth happened to make you, Seventh Brother, so furious?"

"Why not speak it out for everyone to hear? If Fellow Daoist Baili truly is at fault, this palace will naturally give you an explanation!"

"What meaning?!" Seventh Prince Zhou Changyu sneered, his gaze staring at Baili Yunche like a venomous snake, his voice hoarse and full of resentment,

"Big Brother, do you know what this person did in Burial Heaven Abyss two months ago?"

"Taking advantage of when this prince was breaking the ancient Restriction, he launched a sneak attack from the shadows and snatched away the jiuyou ice flame that was about to fall into the hands of this prince!"

"That was a Spiritual Fire of heaven and earth, an Opportunity that this prince spent countless efforts to find, yet it was intercepted by this despicable villain!"

"What?! It is actually a rare spiritual fire of heaven and earth like the jiuyou ice flame?!"

"The jiuyou ice flame? That is a spiritual fire of heaven and earth ranked ninety-ninth on the Spiritual Fire Rankings! It is said to combine ice and fire in one body, making Alchemy and Artifact Refining invincible in every way!"

"No wonder the Seventh Prince is so furious! Having the jiuyou ice flame snatched away by someone else, how could he not be angry? If it were me, I would fight for my life too!"

"Heavens, Baili Yunche actually snatched the jiuyou ice flame from the hands of the Seventh Prince? How did he do it? The Seventh Prince is at the Third Layer of Nascent Soul!"

Everyone in the hall broke into an uproar, and the gazes they directed toward Baili Yunche instantly changed.

There was shock, there was disbelief, but more than anything, there was greed!

A spiritual fire of heaven and earth was a supreme treasure that could be met by chance but not sought.

A single jiuyou ice flame was enough to increase the pill-forming success rate of an Alchemist by thirty percent, and even more so allow fire-attribute Cultivators to experience a skyrocketing combat power.

If one could obtain the jiuyou ice flame of Baili Yunche, perhaps their own strength would also skyrocket!

For a time, their gazes looking at Baili Yunche were filled with undisguised covetousness, as if they were looking at a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Baili Yunche felt those greedy gazes, and his heart sank.

He had originally prepared to use the jiuyou ice flame as a trump card to shock everyone at the Cangxuan Assembly.

He never expected to encounter the Seventh Prince here today, and to have it exposed by him in public!

Truly damned!

If he wanted to leave this place safely today, it would probably be a bit difficult.

But he, Baili Yunche, was not someone afraid of trouble either.

Since he dared to snatch the jiuyou ice flame, he had long since prepared for a battle with the Seventh Prince.

He straightened his back and said in a clear voice: "Your Highness Seventh Prince is joking. Since ancient times, treasures of the world belong to those with virtue!"

"You had the jiuyou ice flame snatched away by me because your own strength was inadequate and you could not guard your Opportunity. Could you still blame others?"

"If that is the case, wouldn't this Cultivation World be a place where whoever has the biggest fists is right?"

His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, carrying an undisguised mockery.

Right at this moment, Liang Hong suddenly jumped out, pointing at Baili Yunche and sternly shouted:

"Baili Yunche! You snatching the jiuyou ice flame of Your Highness Seventh Prince means you are not putting the royal family in your eyes! You are defying the majesty of the Cangxuan Empire!"

"I advise you to know what is good for you, quickly hand over the jiuyou ice flame, and kowtow to apologize to Your Highness Seventh Prince!"

"Otherwise, I would not mind cleaning up this ignorant and arrogant madman on behalf of Your Highness Seventh Prince!"

Liang Hong's gaze was filled with flattery and killing intent, looking like he was eager to display his loyalty.

He was just worrying about having no Opportunity to please the Seventh Prince, and at this moment, he wanted to use this Opportunity to climb up to a high branch.

Hearing this, Baili Yunche let out a sneer, his gaze sweeping across the body of Liang Hong:

"Liang Hong, not wanting to be a proper person, you insist on going to be the dog of the Seventh Prince?"

"How is it, are the bones of the Disciple of the Wanshou Sect all so soft?"

"You kneel when you see people of the royal family, and you lick when you see experts; you really are a qualified dog."

"You are just a pathetic buffoon!"

"You are courting death!"

The Face of Liang Hong instantly turned flushed red, his eyes breathing fire. Being called a running dog in public, how could he endure this?

He let out an angry roar, the spiritual power within his body surging wildly. Raising his right index finger, a pitch-black finger radiance condensed and formed, emitting a terrifying aura of annihilation that destroyed everything.

"Annihilation Finger!"

He abruptly pointed out with a finger, and that finger radiance shot like a black lightning bolt toward the glabella of Baili Yunche.

If this finger hit, it would be enough to pierce through the Sea of Consciousness of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator and completely obliterate their Primordial Spirit!

However, right at the instant when the finger radiance was about to reach him, a figure stood horizontally in front of Baili Yunche.

"Stop!"

Crown Prince Zhou Changqing gave an angry shout, waving his sleeve as a stream of golden spiritual power transformed into a barrier, completely blocking that finger radiance.

His expression was as gloomy as water, his gaze staring coldly at Liang Hong, his voice carrying unsuppressible fury:

"Liang Hong! Do you treat this palace as a dead person?"

"In the Eastern Palace of this palace, attacking the guest of this palace, do you still put this palace in your eyes?"

His heart was furious to the extreme.

It was one thing for the Seventh Prince to make a move in his Eastern Palace!

As for this Liang Hong, he was merely a dog!

To actually still make a move for the Seventh Prince, this made Crown Prince Zhou Changqing even more displeased!

The person was invited by him, and the venue was his, yet Liang Hong wanted to kill his guest right in front of him. If this was not an undisguised slap to the Face, what was it?

The expression of Liang Hong stiffened, and he hurriedly explained: "Your Highness Crown Prince, this person Baili Yunche is arrogant and does not put the royal family in his eyes at all! I am doing this for Your Highness Seventh Prince..."

"Stop!" Crown Prince Zhou Changqing reprimanded sternly, his voice exploding like thunder,

"Right and wrong, this palace naturally has its own judgment; it is not your turn to meddle!"

"What kind of thing are you? How dare you point fingers and gesticulate in front of this palace?"

In his heart, he sneered inwardly.

Baili Yunche had snatched the jiuyou ice flame of Seventh Brother, so he was overjoyed!

Seventh Prince Zhou Changyu was his biggest rival in fighting for the succession, and any matter that could make the Seventh Prince suffer a setback was something he was delighted to see.

How could he possibly let Liang Hong harm Baili Yunche in public?

Furthermore, that Baili Yunche was able to seize the jiuyou ice flame from the hands of the Seventh Prince and retreat unscathed—this strength, this resourcefulness, and this Luck were already worthy of him recruiting with all his might!

The expression of Liang Hong was extremely ugly. He never expected that the Crown Prince would publicly reprimand him for the sake of Baili Yunche.

He opened his mouth, but did not dare to retort further, and could only sullenly retreat to the side.