The Immortal Emperor Returns

Chapter 363 Confession to the Fairy

Having reached her peak late in the Foundation Stage, Jing Hong was powerful in her own right, even though she could have easily ascended into the Golden Core Stage if she so chose.

She had been too quick in her training that her fundamentals needed more work. Hence Emperor Ao’s decision to prevent her from ascending so that she could focus on the basics while amassing more experience.

“ROAR!”

The Zombie let loose a thunderous howl with anger, churning out more dark fumes from all over it as everyone could practically feel its rage and malice. It rose up, fully bringing itself up to its three-meter-tall stature; clearly, Jing Hong’s attack failed to mortally harm it.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bolts of white cloth zipped from hither to thither like what flashes of lightning bolts, streaking through the darkness with shrill whistling as they shot straight at the Zombie.

The monster lifted its two-meter long arm and swatted down at the white cloth with the dark fumes rolling forward ominously.

Boom! Boom...!

Like battering rams, the bolts of white cloths pounded at the Zombie, forcing it backward with the ground splitting beneath its feet.

Jing Hong performed more hand seals and conjured a snowy-white lotus in the air. Divine and elegant it was as it blazed with a soft gossamer glow of white.

Gracefully, her slender fingers flicked.

Whoosh!

The white lotus shot ahead like a comet at the Zombie, spinning non-stop like a dazzling kaleidoscope. It hit the monster and more white light erupted like an avalanche, blotting out every speck of darkness around them while rocking the ground under everyone’s feet.

The Zombie let loose another caterwauling bawl as it crashed to the ground with its chest caved in slightly and green ichor trickling from its wounds.

“Despicable humans! How dare you injure me!?” roared the Zombie with rage while the wounds on its chest healed quickly.

But Jing Hong made no attempt of pressing on her attacks. Instead, she waited patiently for the monster’s wounds to heal before striking again.

More bolts of white cloth lanced through the air like spears. They pummeled into the Zombie, thumping into its granite-like torso so furiously like a drum that its noises could be heard amid the sickening splotches of greenish ichor spattering everywhere.

The Zombie howled and bawled maniacally like a rabid beast, but more white clothes lanced through it, leaving it no different than a blood-sodden block of cheese with more than a dozen holes all over it.

Dark fumes surged in waves, enveloping it as its wounds healed again.

But Jing Hong waited again, silently allowing the monster to recover.

The young leader and his men stared with terror. “This unbelievably-beautiful woman was toying with the Zombie!?”

“Is that the best you can do?” asked Jing Hong, her brows furrowing with apparent disdain as if the Zombie had disappointed her.

Exasperated beyond words, the Zombie let loose another bitter howl. More dark fumes billowed around him in fierce currents, forming the silhouette of a huge monster’s head that bared its fangs at the humans.

Jing Hong nodded thoughtfully. More white light poured from her as she stood in the darkness like a sparkling star in the midst of a dark storm of tossing dust and gravel that could have easily ripped even flesh from bones and disintegrated them into dust.

“So this really is your best, huh?” Jing Hong murmured softly.

Enraged to the point of madness, the Zombie could not yet understand how could its foul aura be powerless before its enemy’s Internal Breath.

Unbeknownst to him, it was not Internal Breath – it was True Energy, the purest of all energies and the bane of everything foul and evil.

Jing Hong lifted a hand and launched several bolts of white cloth again, their white shimmering luster lighting up the darkness again and speared right through the Zombie. Then she swung her arm and the Zombie exploded into a sickening mess of blood and flesh.

More people arrived just in time to witness the scene of the Zombie being destroyed. They stood there, immobilized by shock with their jaws hanging.

Still sitting on top of the steeple, Yan Wushuang uttered, “Wow, she’s just like you – another monster.”

“You don’t say,” chuckled Chu Xun, “Guess who’s her man?”

“You both really are a pair of monsters,” Yan Wushuang muttered, pursing his lips.

Chu Xun gave him an irate look. “As if you’re one to talk,” he thought. Then he peered down and recognized a few faces from the newcomers who had just arrived: Feng Zijian, Mu Tian, and Lin Qingfeng.

“Are you all right?” Feng Zijian asked the young leader and his men.

The young leader shook his head. He turned to Jing Hong, his hands clasping in salute, “Thank you so much, lady, for saving us.”

Jing Hong gave him only a cursory glance and nodded placidly.

The young man reported what happened to Feng Zijian and his retinue.

Their faces turned stiff with trepidation as they comprehended how powerful this woman was. “Toying with an Eighth-grade Zombie?! That would make this woman a veritable monster herself!”

“Thank you so much for your help, lady,” Feng Zijian conveyed his gratitude.

He needed to be careful. Never had he heard of anyone being so incredibly powerful within the territory of the Sanctuary’s influence and she was just so beautiful.

Jing Hong nodded gently.

“May I ask from which sect or school do you belong to, lady?” asked Feng Zijian, eager to probe further. He needed to be subtle in dealing with one just as powerful as the Lord of the Sanctuary himself.

“I don’t belong to any organization,” she replied.

Feng Zijian’s brows furrowed deeply with doubt. Meanwhile, the young man just could not take his eyes off her.

“We are members of the Sanctuary of Tetrarchy, lady. If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to the Sanctuary for refreshments,” said the young man.

“But Master Jingchou!” cried Feng Zijian frantically. The woman was still a mysterious enigma to say nothing about her dangerous powers. How could he so flippantly invite a stranger to the Sanctuary?

But the young Yue Jingchou looked hardly perturbed, “Don’t worry, Elder Feng. She saved us. That makes her a friend.”

That did little to assuage Feng Zijian’s doubt. “Should we not first ask permission from His Lordship?” he asked.

“Have no worry. I can deal with this,” insisted the young man.

Feng Zijian could only heave a weary sigh. Without any doubt, Master Jingchou must have fallen for this mysterious woman.

And he was not the only one who saw through the young man’s intention too.

Mu Tian and Lin Qingfeng nodded approvingly in silence. This woman’s beauty was really breathtakingly rare.

“Let him do as he likes, Feng,” said Mu Tian. This woman’s prowess would make her a valuable asset to the Sanctuary and better still, if she could tie the knot with Master Jingchou.

The young man furtively bent a little to Mu Tian as a surreptitious gesture of thanks, thinking, “You are the best, Mu Tian.”

But Feng Zijian still looked unconvinced. He was cautious about Jing Hong’s powers as well as her inscrutable provenance.

“Would you be so kind as to accept my invitation to visit the Sanctuary as my guest, lady?” asked the young man, on his best behavior like a well-mannered gentleman.

Still perching atop the steeple, Yan Wushuang teased nastily, “Look, someone’s trying to woo your woman! Well, he might be a tad too weak, but he certainly looks better than you.”

Chu Xun stared at him, bewildered, before, without warning, he booted Yan Wushuang off the steeple.

“ARRGGGH!” Yan Wushuang screeched like a falling chicken as he plummeted, waving his arms frantically like one too as he tried in vain to keep himself balanced.

That alarmed Feng Zijian and everyone looked up just in time to find a dark figure falling from the sky.

Boom!

Whatever it was, it came crashing down in a plume of dust and the ground split into cracks.

“Good Heavens, what on earth is this?!” the young man yelped inadvertently.

Cautiously, Feng Zijian and the others approached carefully and slowly.

“Looks like a man,” said a voice quietly.

“No, wait. It could be a Zombie,” said another, unsheathing his sword.

Feng Zijian summoned his powers. Internal Breath coursed quickly through him. He reminded the others, “Careful, everyone.”

“Ouch... Dammit, you! Were you trying to kill me?!” Yan Wushuang griped as he got up. He touched and stroked his face, feeling himself up and down to make sure he was fine for he had almost fallen face-first into the ground.

“Master Yan?!” gasped Feng Zijian, recognizing him. He could not resist being stunned when he saw who it was when the latter looked up.

Feeling sheepish, Yan Wushuang flexed his limbs and his bones cracked like bursting popcorn.

“Damn it, Feng! The ground here is so fragile! You should get someone to look into it! No doubt you’ll find some fleecing and skimming during the process when it was built!”

What?!

Everyone stared at Yan Wushuang with odd and disbelieving looks. “He jumped off a high place just to test the ground?! As if we would even believe such a preposterous excuse!”

“Erm... Who’s this, Elder Feng?” asked the young man curiously, wondering who this stranger, whose entrance appeared to be hilariously flamboyant, was.

“This is Master Yan. Yan Wushuang. He’s—”

But before Feng Zijian could finish, Yan Wushuang interrupted him, telling the young man, “Boy, you are neck-deep in trouble.”

Puzzled, the young man could not understand why. “Is this man mad?!”

Sensing the young man’s hesitation, Yan Wushuang jabbed a finger at Jing Hong and asked, “You’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

The corners of the young man’s lips twitched uncontrollably. “You sure you haven’t hurt your brain, friend?”

“You impudent whelp, what are you talking about?” hissed an irate Yan Wushuang. But he quickly rolled his eyes and broke into a broad grin, “But I’m rooting for you. Let me tell you: her name’s Jing Hong. People call her the Fairy.”

The young man’s eyes lit up. He turned to look at Jing Hong who remained quite some distance away and whispered, “Wait, you know this woman?”

“We know each other well,” Yan Wushuang nodded and said, “If you have anything you wish to know, just fire away.”

“What sect or organization does she belong to?”

“Nothing. She belongs to no organization. That I’m pretty sure,” said Yan Wushuang.

The young man could not believe it, and nor did anyone else present. “How could anyone attain such terrifying power without becoming part of a sect or organization?!”

The ever-so circumspect Feng Zijian began to feel a strange foreboding dread. “Master Yan, you really know this woman?”

“Naturally,” said Yan Wushuang, rolling his eyes as if annoyed by the elderly man’s disbelief of him.

“Rest easy, Master Yan. I’m only curious about her. That a woman belonging to no organization could achieve such impossible heights,” persuaded Feng Zijian hastily.

“What’s so strange about that? As if we don’t have enough monsters popping out of nowhere these days,” hissed Yan Wushuang bitterly.

“But how did you come to know her?” asked the young man.

Yan Wushuang could not help feeling letdown. He walked to the young man and threw an arm over his shoulder like a good friend. “Do what you want and don’t hesitate. You look handsome and she looks as pretty as a fairy. To me, you are a match made in Heaven. Why else would you two meet in such a fateful encounter?”

The young man began to nod his head subconsciously.

“Wait a minute, Master Yan. How could you—” Feng Zijian was about to protest but his attempt to dissuade his young master was easily shot down by Yan Wushuang again, “Leave any questions for later. But first, it’s my duty to play matchmaker.”

“Now listen to me, boy. These days, you approach any woman if you feel any interest in her, or else, you’d only wallow in regret. Look at her, all lonely and gloomy. It’s destiny that you two should meet. It’s written in the stars that you should be the one to take care of her,” said Yan Wushuang, tugging the young man after him.

It was true that the young man was interested in Jing Hong. He could never take his eyes off her since they met and at Yan Wushuang’s prodding, he felt his blood boiling.

“But what if she rebuffs me?” gasped the young man, still looking uncertain. If Jing Hong’s moniker was the Fairy, then admitting his love for her could be seen as an insult to her.

“You idiot. I would go right to her and confess my feelings to her now if I were you! You are a man, so be like one! If you don’t even have the courage to admit your love to the woman you’re interested in, how do you expect to succeed and bring honor to your house? How do you expect to become a stout warrior at all?!” hissed Yan Wushuang, irritated.

The young man gnashed his teeth and his eyes turned firm with determination. “He is right,” he thought about Yan Wushuang’s words. “If I fail to even confess my love, how could I defend my honor as a warrior?!”

“Go ahead then! I’m rooting for you!” prodded Yan Wushuang further with a devious grin.

“How dare you, Chu Xun! How dare you kick me off a roof like some common thief?!”

“Wait, Master Jingchou,” Feng Zijian quickly stopped the young man.

“Stop right there, Feng. Now you’re being nasty. How could you stop a young man from pursuing his happiness?” Yan Wushuang walked over to the elderly man and patted his shoulder.

But the old man could only grimace with trepidation at whatever devilry Yan Wushuang was concocting. The latter patted his shoulder and channeled a burst of his powers through the older man, causing his blood to boil and his hands to tremble and that was enough to tell old Feng Zijian that something was wrong. Terribly wrong!

“Go on then! And good luck!” urged Yan Wushuang again.

“B-b-but Master Jingchou! Wait!” Before Feng Zijian could even speak some more, another burst of Internal Breath crushed down on him, causing his blood to churn even wilder with more excruciating pain stinging him that he could barely speak.

The young man hastily tidied himself and summoned up enough courage for his upcoming derring-do and he marched towards Jing Hong.

Yan Wushuang grinned so widely that both ends of his lips could almost touch his ears. If only he could see how exasperated Chu Xun must look now.