Liang Chen's gaze continued to drift across the city as he watched over it from his vantage point, the mortals and weaker cultivators living in it hadn't even noticed what had happened in this palace. Perhaps, by the time they noticed it, Liang Chen would already have left. Some might be grateful, some might be angry that he created a power vacuum that could lead to fighting as new people battled to see who would be the new leader.
But truthfully, it didn't matter to him. If he cared for other people's opinions then he wouldn't have set down a path as bloody and evil as this one. He simply moved as his heart desired, struck as his consciousness dictated, strode forward until he was the only evil that remained. His gaze lowered slightly, locking onto a youthful girl that was making her way through the streets, heading directly for the palace where he was currently standing.
"Let's go Yu... Ah, right, not here at the moment."
Liang Chen shook his head lightly, he was used to always being in contact with, or at least someone else. But since Yumao was taking care of the people he had rescued from the dungeon, Liang Chen was for the first time in quite a while, somewhat alone.
Liang Chen stepped forward after he finished shaking his head, stepping over the railing that surrounded the terrace. He plummeted towards the ground, his spear sinking back into his body just before his feet touched the ground again. He used a bit of wind to slow his descent at the last second, preventing the stone road beneath him from shattering. He had landed almost directly in front of the girl that had been heading for the palace, her slim body quickly dipping into a respectful bow.
"Greetings to you, Great Senior. My Lord would like to extend an invitation to you, he hopes that you'll grace him with a visit. At your leisure, of course."
The mortals and weaker cultivators of this city may have yet to notice what happened in the palace, but how could that possibly be true for the people residing in the opposite palace? Liang Chen had noticed that both sides had people keeping a close eye on the other palace, they would notice the moment something happened.
"Yeah, I was planning on heading there next anyway, so lead the way."
The girl felt a light shudder run down her back as Liang Chen's words sank into her ears. He had just paid a visit to the first palace, and the end result was that only a handful of people or so managed to leave alive. His visit to them, would it end in that very same tragedy? But how could she know what she was dealing with? Liang Chen was the Scourge King, a title he embodied perfectly. He was like a swarm of locusts, he'd find a crop and devour it whole, and then he would move on to the next one without pause.
But the girl feared that a moment of hesitation would end up sealing her fate, so she didn't allow herself to show any of her fear or worry, smiling softly as she turned to guide Liang Chen. As for Liang Chen, he already had his plans, they were practically set in stone by the time he set foot into the city and spread out his senses. He didn't say anything and followed after the girl, receiving a few curious looks as she brought him through the streets and towards the palace situated at the other end of the city.
But whether or not it was because of the girl's status or the unintentional aura of power that Liang Chen radiated, the people that filled the streets moved aside so that the two had ample space to themselves. The palace they were heading towards was located on the other side of the city, but both of them were somewhat accomplished cultivators so that distance was something they could cover without the sun moving too much further across the sky.
The girl didn't notice anything, but Liang Chen's poison quietly snuck into her soul as they were moving. And before she knew it, she was unconsciously spilling everything she knew about the people in the second palace, even the lord that she respected. By the time they reached the second palace, she had emptied out her heart and Liang Chen drew back the poison, the girl not even realizing what had happened since the difference in strength was too great.
The second palace was identical to the other one, Liang Chen craning his neck slightly to gaze upon the top of the wave-shaped building. The girl cast a sideways glance at him, but his expression didn't give away any of his thoughts so she had no idea what to expect and could only proceed as calmly as possible.
"This way please, my Lord is eagerly awaiting your arrival."
The guards posted in front of the gate embedded in the fence had already stepped aside in a respectful manner, the beads of sweat running down their cheeks obscured by the helmets they were wearing. Liang Chen stepped past the guards and through the gate, the girl hurriedly leading him through the small garden and into the palace itself.
A golden carpet had been placed inside the doors of the palace, the soft fur-like material shrouding the footsteps of Liang Chen and the girl. The carpet continued deeper into the palace, only cutting off when they reached the largest reception hall in the palace. As one would expect from a palace, a golden cloud-like throne rose up from the floor at the very end of the room, a seat worthy for a king receiving his subjects.
But the throne was currently empty, the one that had invited Liang Chen had chosen to set up two small couches opposite of each other a bit away from the base of the throne. He, a middle-aged looking man with faded brown hair and strong blue eyes sat on one of the couches, an entourage of what was likely his closest aides standing respectfully behind him. The man rose from his seated position when Liang Chen stepped into the room, gesturing towards the other couch with a thin smile.
"I must admit, I wasn't quite expecting you to arrive straight away so forgive me if our preparations aren't quite up to snuff. I am Fue Sangye, please take a seat. Little Yingyu, you can come here."
The girl that had brought him here, bowed respectfully at Liang Chen once more and then returned to the side of her lord, her steps a bit rushed. Liang Chen also stepped forward, taking a seat on the empty couch, his gaze landing on Fue Sangye, who also sat down.
"I was expecting there to at least be some arrays, maybe an ambush, not often I get invited to a place with neither."
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Liang Chen's pupils drifted about slightly as he spoke, his senses had covered the entire palace long before he set foot into it so he could easily see what they were doing. And just like he had said, there wasn't a single array set up, nor did Fue Sangye have any men hiding in the area. Fue Sangye didn't look surprised by the fact that Liang Chen had apparently scouted out the area already, maintaining his thin smile.
"What point would there be in setting up either? Qing Rue definitely had several defensive and offensive arrays set up around his palace, but did they do anything to stop you? Based on what I've heard, none of the arrays even had the chance to activate. And I must admit that I'm inferior to Qing Rue when it comes to arrays and the like, so if his couldn't stop you then there is no way that mine can."
It was quite an honest answer, but it also avoided making his own stance clear, so whether or not he would have set up any arrays if he felt they would be successful was unknown. Liang Chen had no intentions of prying into it, and Fue Sangye also didn't linger on the topic, clearly already determined to not waste too much time.
"I'll keep it simple, I want you to join us. Or perhaps more specifically, I want to form an alliance with you. We can't fight you so there's no way we can stop you from conquering this city. But seeing how strong you are, I take it that you are quite diligent with your cultivation, no? If you were to try to rule over this city, it will inevitably cut into your cultivation time, it will drastically hamper your growth. And that's where we come in, we are already very familiar with this city, so we can help you take care of it and give you information, we'll be like your arms and ears. Getting rid of us would require you to spend a fair bit of time setting up a new information network, so it's not a terrible proposition, don't you think?"
Fue Sangye had started making plans the moment he received the news that someone forced their way into the other palace. If the intruder died but weakened Qing Rue's forces then they would initiate an attack, if he died without damaging them then they would make no move, and if he won then they would try to form an alliance.
Fue Sangye had only become all the more convinced of his third plan when he saw Liang Chen for himself. Cultivators were a peculiar breed, the younger they looked the warier you had to be of them. With how long their lifespans were, it was only obvious that their ageing also slowed appropriately, they would be able to maintain their appearance for an untold number of years.
But even so, they didn't magically get younger when their cultivation increased. If they were old when they finally increased their cultivation to a realm where their ageing slowed, then that would be how they appeared in the future, given that they didn't use any special means to force their features to look younger. But these special means were generally seen through with relative ease so those who used them did so for vanity above all else.
And Liang Chen looked extremely young, he didn't even seem to have hit his twenties yet. This could only mean one thing, he had reached a somewhat high realm at a young age, which in tune meant that he had exceedingly good potential and talent. And people like that were always dangerous, especially as they grew stronger. So Fue Sangye decided that fighting was pointless, they may as well just latch onto the juicy thigh that now presented itself. But what a shame, they had misunderstood Liang Chen's goal from the very start.
"I have no interest in conquering or ruling this city, me arriving here is little more than a coincidence. I likely won't even be here when dawn arrives again."
This city had simply been the one that happened to be located at the end of the path he had randomly chosen earlier, and he had only entered it to get some more information about this hidden realm. And now that he knew the truth, he had no plans of staying here much longer, he already knew quite a lot about the Mystic's Hidden Realm thanks to his last visit. Fue Sangye's thin smile changed slightly when Liang Chen shook his head, traces of confusion emerging in his eyes.
"You're not intending on taking over the city? Then why did you kill Qing Rue and his men, did you have a prior grudge?"
Fue Sangye had even personally gone up to the terrace to observe the other palace, he had seen how few people made it out of there alive. Liang Chen had basically massacred them down to the last men, yet he had no intention of taking over that palace, and the city at the same time?
"No, I didn't even know his name until you said it earlier. I killed him and his men because I did not like what they were doing, that was all there is to it."
Liang Chen gave a light shake of his head, he truly hadn't known a single thing about Qing Rue before reaching this city. Qing Rue simply had poor luck, that this city would be the one that Liang Chen reached first. Of course, if Qing Rue and his men hadn't engaged in acts like that from the start then they wouldn't have to rely on good luck to get through the calamity that was Liang Chen's arrival.
Liang Chen hadn't put much meaning into his words, but Fue Sangye's expression dropped slightly. He knew what sort of things Qing Rue got up to, he had been stuck in his realm for too long so he had allowed himself to sink a bit more into depravity. And since he knew what Qing Rue got up to, he could form a guess as to why Liang Chen had accepted his invitation.
"...So the reason you accepted the invitation so quickly was?"
Fue Sangye didn't properly finish his sentence, the insinuation of his question was enough. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, the sound reverberating in his ears as he mentally gave a short prayer. But as Liang Chen was quite familiar with already, there was no exalted god that would listen to your prayers.
"Him, him, those two twins, and about 49 others that are currently scattered about in this palace."
Liang Chen's hand stretched out and pointed at four of the people standing behind Fue Sangye, causing his expression to sink even further. It was exactly as he feared, Liang Chen's vision had managed to pierce deep enough.