40: Chapter 40 Marriage Alliance

In a remote, quiet building of the Wu Clan, an emaciated old man sat upright on a bench facing the door.

He was Miao Fei, one of the powerful Elders of the Wu Clan.

Right now, his turbid eyes were locked onto the tightly shut door.

He was waiting.

Waiting for someone who could completely change his destiny, and even the destiny of the entire Wu Clan.

Because he, Miao Fei, had climbed from a side-branch disciple with mediocre Aptitude to his current position as a powerful Elder, and it was certainly not due to any damn talent.

It was a miracle!

Sixty years ago, he was just a child sweeping the outer perimeter of the Wu God Pavilion.

That day, he saw with his own eyes the statue at the entrance of the Wu God Pavilion open its eyes.

What kind of eyes were those?

With just one glance, the Trash Bloodline within him boiled and purified as if oil had been poured onto a raging fire!

From then on, he went from a mediocre bottom-feeder to Cultivating with incredible speed, eventually climbing to his current position as an Elder.

Then, the divine voice of the Wu God exploded in his mind.

Only then did he realize that the Wu God, whom the Wu Clan had worshipped for thousands of years, had never abandoned them.

It was from that moment on that he discovered a shocking secret that could turn the entire Wu Clan upside down.

The Wu Clan had worshipped the Wu God for generations, so why had the Wu Clan been forced into such a dire state by the Demon People, yet the Wu God had never descended a miracle to protect them?

The reason was actually very simple.

The Wu God had been Sealed!

And the ones who Sealed the Wu God were not the Demon People, but the successive Clan Chiefs and Divine Shamans of the Wu Clan!

These traitors, who betrayed their Masters and ancestors, had ruthlessly suppressed the supreme Wu God beneath the Wu God Pavilion just to control the power of the Wu Clan!

They were the culprits behind the decline of the Wu Clan to this day!

For so many years, Miao Fei had dreamed of breaking that formation to save the Wu God.

But he was not qualified.

Only the Clan Chief and the Divine Shaman could enter the core area of the Wu God Pavilion; he didn't even have the qualifications to get close.

Until last night, while he was on guard duty at the outer perimeter of the Wu God Pavilion, that majestic voice he hadn't heard in sixty years resonated in his mind again.

"At midnight tonight, My messenger will arrive at your residence."

"Knock, knock."

Two extremely light knocks sounded suddenly in the deathly silent building.

Miao Fei shuddered and stood up abruptly.

He waved his large sleeve.

"Creak—"

The heavy wooden door opened silently without any wind.

Outside the door, the night wind blew in.

A-Man wearing the uniform of an ordinary Wu Clan guard stood there.

The man's face was mostly hidden in the shadow of his hood, making it impossible to see his features.

Miao Fei did not get up immediately; he didn't know if this person was the one he was waiting for.

So, he stared at the newcomer with a vigilant gaze and asked in a low, deep voice: "Why have you come to find me in the middle of the night?"

The man didn't speak, but instead stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him.

Then, under Miao Fei's gaze, a familiar aura flashed on the man's body.

This aura was identical to what Miao Fei had felt in the Wu God Pavilion all those years ago!

Miao Fei's pupils contracted violently, and his whole body trembled.

He slid to his knees from the bench, his head slamming onto the bluestone floor, his demeanor fanatical to the extreme:

"Subordinate Miao Fei pays respects to the messenger of the Wu God!"

The man looked down at him, nodded with satisfaction, his voice devoid of any fluctuation:

"Elder Miao, get up. We are all the first batch of believers of the Wu God. Selected by the Great One a hundred years ago, we have endured until now, just for this day."

"To be able to climb to the position of Elder under the noses of those traitors, you are very good."

Miao Fei stood up, terrified and trembling, his waist bent like a shrimp: "It is all the grace of the Wu God."

"Less talk. This Physical Body cannot carry this Divine Thought of mine for long. You must remember what I say next, do not miss a single word!"

The man's tone suddenly became chilling:

"The opportunity has arrived. Within these few days, we will take action to clean up the house and create chaos."

"By then, with the murder case of the Great Zhou delegation and the internal turmoil, Miao Yunzhan and that old immortal will surely be overwhelmed, and the other Elders of the Wu God Pavilion will also be lured away by our people."

The man took out a pitch-black bone plate from his bosom and handed it to Miao Fei:

"Take this bone plate and enter the center of the Wu God Pavilion during the chaos."

"Pull out the object on the formation eye."

"As soon as that thing is removed, the Wu God will be able to break the Seal and emerge!"

Miao Fei took the bone plate with trembling hands. It was cold to the touch, exuding a bone-chilling coldness, but his heart was burning with fire.

The man stepped forward, patted Miao Fei on the shoulder, and drew a big, round pie:

"After the matter is accomplished, when the Wu God cleans up those traitorous usurpers, who else is qualified to sit in the position of the Wu Clan Chief besides you?"

Miao Fei was so excited that his whole body trembled. He knelt down again with a "thud" and said decisively:

"Please rest assured, Messenger and Wu God! Even if this subordinate is smashed to pieces, I will definitely pull out the item on the formation eye and welcome the return of the Wu God!"

The man smiled with satisfaction: "The Great One did not misjudge you. My Divine Thought is exhausted. Remember to clean up this skin bag..."

Before the words fell, the man's body stiffened, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped straight to the ground, instantly losing all signs of life.

Miao Fei raised his head, staring fixedly at the pitch-black bone plate in his hand, and then looked at the corpse on the ground.

On that old face, he could no longer suppress a smile of extreme excitement.

Meanwhile.

Deep in the Wu Clan, in the Forbidden Ground's ice prison.

The surrounding walls were built entirely of ten-thousand-year black ice, and the surface was covered with dense Wu Clan runes.

Inside this ice prison, it not only froze the marrow, but also caused the Martial Artist's True Qi to stagnate, and even the Life Fire in the Sea of Consciousness would be suppressed like a candle in the wind.

Anyone locked in here, even a Master at the Peak of the Life Fire Realm, would become an ordinary person on the chopping block.

Sang Ji sat cross-legged on the cold ground.

His face was as pale as paper, his lips were frozen purple, his hair and eyebrows were covered with white frost, and he looked haggard.

Just as he was gritting his teeth, resisting the cold, a somewhat frivolous voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

"It's truly rare. The dignified next Divine Shaman of the Wu Clan, how did you end up being frozen like a dead dog in this ten-thousand-year ice prison?"

"Who is it?"

Sang Ji opened his eyes suddenly, his gaze like lightning, scanning the surroundings quickly.

Except for the crystal-clear black ice, there was no one.

"Who am I?"

The voice seemed to be thinking seriously, then yawned lazily:

"It's been too long, this old man doesn't even remember who he is. I just woke up and suddenly noticed that a little guy with the aura of the Divine Shaman's Legacy had been thrown in, so I was just a bit curious."

"Playing gods and ghosts!"

Sang Ji snorted coldly and closed his eyes again.

He just secretly remembered to tell his Master about the things inside this ice prison when he got out later.

With his Master's heaven-reaching cultivation, if he knew there was a mouse in the Forbidden Ground's ice prison, he would naturally investigate it thoroughly.

"Yo, quite a temper, I like it."

The voice was not angry, but rather full of pleasure:

"I've been stifled in this broken place for I don't know how many years, it's not easy to run into someone breathing. Meeting is fate, I'm in a good mood today, I'll give you a free divination!"

Sang Ji frowned, guarding his heart and mind, still ignoring it.

Immediately after.

"Clang—"

Three crisp and melodious sounds of copper coins hitting the ground rang directly in the depths of Sang Ji's mind.

After a moment of silence.

The voice suddenly let out a startled sound: "Eh?"

"Interesting... truly interesting."

"Upper Dui, lower Kan, the Ze Shui Kun hexagram. A Dragon swimming in shallow water gets teased by shrimp, a Phoenix losing its feathers is worse than a chicken."

Although Sang Ji knew what it meant, he felt it wasn't anything good, and his eyelids couldn't help but twitch.

Then the voice, with thirty percent sympathy, thirty percent ridicule, and ninety-four percent mockery, slowly interpreted the hexagram:

"Kid, the hexagram shows that you were destined to have a childhood sweetheart you loved."

"Moreover, that girl originally had you in her heart too."

Hearing this, Sang Ji's heart skipped a beat, and the pure and beautiful face of Miao Aman instantly appeared in his mind.

A-Man...

"What a pity, what a pity."

The voice shifted abruptly, like a poisoned knife, stabbing hard into Sang Ji's heart:

"Your fate cannot guard against villains. An outsider wild man has inserted himself, using some despicable means to scheme."

"Not only has he taken your Luck, but he also wants to take your woman."

"The final outcome of this hexagram is... this beloved of yours will eventually lie in someone else's bed, becoming another man's cherished wife."

"And you, you can only watch from the side, with your head glowing green..."

"Shut up!!!"

Sang Ji finally couldn't bear it anymore.

He sprang up from the ice, pointing at the empty ice prison and roaring:

"Nonsense! It's all nonsense!"

"A-Man is mine! No one can take her away! What is that Great Zhou pretty boy worth?"

"And you, mouse, get out here!"

But inside the ice prison, only Sang Ji's angry echoes reverberated.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Whether amused by Sang Ji's anger or feeling that the heat was enough, the voice let out a series of meaningful chuckles and then completely fell silent, never ringing again.

Leaving only Sang Ji standing in the bone-chilling ice prison, his chest heaving violently.

The next day.

Wu Clan, Council Hall.

Today, the atmosphere in the hall was particularly heavy.

In addition to the Wu Clan Elders qualified to participate in core decisions, the Great Zhou delegation had also arrived.

Sitting at the head of the guest seats was naturally Chen Shanzhi.

Beside him was Li Hu, who looked like he was ready to eat someone at any moment.

After Wang Yuanhua died, Li Hu, as a confidant, logically and temporarily replaced the position of Supervising Officer.

It was a pity that this temporary Supervising Officer was nothing in front of Chen Shanzhi.

The actual control of the entire delegation had long been firmly grasped by Chen Shanzhi.

In the main seat.

Miao Yunzhan sat firmly, dignified without anger.

On the left was the Divine Shaman wrapped in black robes, and on the right was the Wu Clan Saintess Tang Xiaowu.

"Calling everyone here today is mainly for two things."

Miao Yunzhan's gaze swept across the audience and finally fell on Li Hu, his tone steady:

"The first thing is about the accidental death of your country's Supervising Officer, Lord Wang, in the Valley of Ten Thousand Snakes."

"My Wu Clan expresses deep regret and has already dispatched the most elite personnel to investigate day and night."

"At present, we have already grasped some extremely critical clues and leads."

Hearing this, Li Hu stood up abruptly and fired directly:

"Leads? Then Clan Chief Miao, tell us, who is the murderer?"

"My Lord died so miserably. If you can't hand over the person today, our Great Zhou Iron Cavalry will never agree!"

Miao Yunzhan's eyes turned cold, but he didn't flare up, just said lightly:

"General Li, calm down."

"The reason this seat is not announcing the clues temporarily is for fear of alerting the enemy. The murderer is cunning; once they sense the wind, they will surely disappear without a trace."

"To completely uproot this tumor, we need some time."

"Bullshit!"

Li Hu slapped the table and stood up suddenly.

He strode to the center of the hall, pointing at Miao Yunzhan, mocking:

"Who knows if you are deliberately stalling for time to shield that murderer named Sang Ji?"

As soon as these words came out, the Wu Clan side exploded instantly.

Several Elders who already opposed the alliance stood up and slapped the table.

"Presumptuous!"

"A dog of Great Zhou dares to bark wildly on our Wu Clan's territory!"

"Do you really think our Wu Clan is afraid of you? If you want to fight, then let's fight!"

Seeing that both sides were about to draw swords and hack at each other in the hall, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

"Bang."

A crisp sound of a teacup hitting the table rang out.

The sound was not loud, but it weirdly suppressed the quarrels of the whole hall.

Chen Shanzhi stood up leisurely, dusted off the non-existent dust on his sleeves, and stood in front of Li Hu.

He first looked back and glanced at Li Hu coldly.

This glance carried the murderous intent honed in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

It actually scared Li Hu, a Master of the Life Fire Realm, into swallowing the second half of his sentence and sitting back in his chair.

Others didn't know, but he knew the battle record of this Chen San in Great Zhou.

Then, Chen Shanzhi turned his head to look at Miao Yunzhan, his face instantly replaced with a gentle and elegant smile:

"Clan Chief Miao, General Li is mourning his superior and is emotionally agitated, please forgive him."

"Our Great Zhou naturally absolutely believes in Clan Chief Miao's character, and also believes that the Wu Clan is not the kind of rat that dares to do things but not admit them."

Chen Shanzhi paused, his tone changed, revealing an unquestionable strength:

"However, a country cannot be without a leader for a day, and the delegation cannot have no explanation. In order to calm the possible war between the two countries..."

Chen Shanzhi held up one finger: "Seven days."

"Great Zhou can only give the Wu Clan seven days at most. Once seven days are up, if there is still no result, then this Chen can only take the delegation and return to the capital."

Miao Yunzhan looked at Chen Shanzhi's means of using both kindness and prestige, and secretly cheered in his heart.

This kid, he gave a step down just right, and did not lose the dignity of a special envoy of a great country!

"Good! Seven days it is!"

Miao Yunzhan slapped the table and agreed directly.

Then, his eyes flashed, and his voice suddenly raised a few degrees:

"Since the first thing is finished, let's talk about the second thing."

"It is also the most important thing of this clan meeting — alliance!"

Miao Yunzhan's gaze scanned the Elders below who had their own ulterior motives like a sharp sword, and said sonorously:

"The Demon People are powerful and pressing step by step. The Wu-Zhou alliance is the general trend, and no one can stop it!"

"As the Clan Chief of the Wu Clan, I support this matter with both hands!"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the hall became subtle again.

The opposition Elders just wanted to speak out to refute, but Miao Yunzhan didn't give them a chance at all, and directly released a bombshell that shattered the sky:

"Moreover, in order to show the sincerity of our Wu Clan to Great Zhou!"

Miao Yunzhan turned his head to look at Chen Shanzhi, a fox-like smile hooked on the corner of his mouth, and said loudly:

"This seat has decided to betroth my apple of my eye, the Saintess of the Witch Clan, Miao Aman..."

"To the Great Zhou Special Envoy, Commander Chen, for a marriage alliance between the two clans!"

Boom!

As soon as this sentence came out, the entire council hall seemed to have been hit by a meteorite, and it instantly exploded!

Everyone was dumbfounded!

Li Hu widened his eyes, looking at Chen Shanzhi as if he had seen a ghost.

The Elders who opposed the alliance changed their expressions and hurriedly said: "Clan Chief! This cannot be done!"

Tang Xiaowu raised her head abruptly, looking at her father in disbelief.

And Chen Shanzhi, who was standing in the center of the hall, maintained that calm and breezy smile on the surface.

But in his heart, he couldn't help but start cursing.

This old fox wanted to use him as bait.

"Damn it, I offered you advice, and you want me to give my heart and lungs?"