“What do you mean, Shi Zi Ling?” An elder spoke up, his face darkening, saying, “Your eldest son has accidentally killed a core member of our clan, and you dare to confront us?”
“Get out all of you!” Roared Shi Zi Ling. How could he not understand what was happening? If it were not for Shi Hao’s spiritual awareness still lingering, waking him just in time, he would have died here unjustly.
“Shi Zi Ling, do not go too far. Your eldest son killed our clan’s legitimate offspring, and you do not punish him. Now you dare talk to us like this. This is beyond unacceptable,” said the old woman leaning on a green wooden staff, her face clouded with anger.
“Leave!” Shi Zi Ling exploded with fury. His eldest son was in mortal danger, about to die, and still being targeted and harmed. At the end, they even turned the tables, stirring his fury beyond endurance.
With a ‘clang,’ a golden battle spear appeared in his hands. His veins popped out as he gripped it tightly; no need for further explanations now. He would rather fight to the death!
“You… intend to use force?” Several elders turned grim-faced, two of them stepping forward aggressively.
“They all shall vanish—get out!” Qin Yi Ning also erupted, her graceful eyebrows furrowed, her eyes wide with fury, pointing at everyone and rebuking, “If even a hair of Hao er is damaged, this Lower Realm, the Immortal Shan, won’t remain standing!”
Their expressions turned cold, and though angry, they held back. For Qin Yi Ning’s status was no ordinary one. Her lineage had prevailed in the Upper Realm, now governing all. Moreover, the Qinhao, implanted with a celestial bone, was indeed her child, destined to ascend to the Supreme Supreme Sovereignposition.
Silence reigned inside the room as the others retreated. A bronze lamp dangled overhead, the candlelight flickering dimly and darkly. Shi Hao had fallen unconscious again. Each time he barely awakens becomes increasingly worse.
Sitting beside the bed, Shi Zi Ling was mute and looked deeply burdened. What decision must be made?
“There’s no time left; we can’t wait any longer. With every passing moment, Hao er’s body weakens, his life slipping away moment by moment.”
Shi Zi Ling’s voice was hoarse and full of pain. His eyes were bloodshot as he suddenly stood up.
“What are you going to do? To dig out the bones of our other child? How will he feel? There’s even a risk of death. Trading his life for his brother’s?” With tears in her eyes, Qin Yi Ning asked.
“Will we watch helplessly as Hao er dies? Every passing moment makes him weaker. We’ve already delayed an entire day!” Shi Zi Ling groaned, looking out of the window into the misty night, the starlight dimming as a cloud drifted by, making the mood more oppressive.
The candlelight dimmed. Shi Hao lay pale on the bed, his eyes closed, his body nearing collapse.
Shi Zi Ling clenched his fists and said determinedly, “No! I must save Hao er! Back then, we had already failed him, absent from his life. He was so young, enduring those bloodcurdling experiences alone in the Martial King’s palace, nearly dying from extreme weakness. Then we left him alone in the Shi Village for years, never fulfilling our parental duties, never caring for him properly. All his achievements were made through his own efforts. At such a young age, he left the village alone, braved the wilderness’s fierce beasts and powerful enemies, fought his way step by step, and finally rose to prominence.”
Shi Zi Ling took a deep breath and continued, “He seems brilliant, shaking the world, but how many hardships did he endure? It was all due to his relentless struggle. And what have we done? We never protected him, failed in our parental duties, did not do anything for him!”
Qin Yi Ning wept silently while sitting at the bed, holding Shi Hao’s hand and gently stroking it. Watching his faint breath fade further, her heart was full of anguish.
Their eldest son never hated them. Alone, he fought his way into the Qin Clan, risking his life to rescue them from the powerful sect, one of the strongest, the Immortal Shan.
Qin Yi Ning trembled, “What can we do? Hao er’s fate is already cruel enough. Now, is there no other way? Taking the bone from the younger child’s body will also risk death. How cruel is this.”
“We already lost Hao er once before, failing to protect him and fulfill our obligations as parents. Can we bear to watch him pass away again? I would feel guilty and restless all my life!” Shi Zi Ling’s eyes were reddening more.
“But have you considered the other child? Isn’t this deeply unjust and cruel to him?” Qin Yi Ning asked.
“I don’t care anymore. Whatever emotional scars the second son has, we’ll face them later. Saving Hao er is urgent. Otherwise, he will die soon!” Shi Zi Ling knew the consequences all too well.
“Father, are you going to take my bones?” The door opened as Qin Hao appeared. His face remained calm, his eyes deeply contemplative as he stood there without advancing further.
Shi Zi Ling opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Yes, father, mother. If you believe this can save my brother, you can take my bones,” Qin Hao said.
“Child, please don’t think much of it. Both you and your brother are equally important in our hearts. We won’t sacrifice you.” Tears streamed down Qin Yi Ning’s face as she spoke painfully.
“From the Stone Kingdom, War Prince, the Wise Prince, and Peng Prince have arrived to pay a visit. Please open the mountain gates!”
At that moment, a sonorous voice echoed through the air, reaching deep into the Immortal Shan. Clearly, the visitor was a master of the Venerable Sage realm, causing a ripple of astonishment.
“Report: People from the Stone Kingdom have arrived, and they’re accompanied by… three Venerable Sages!” A person reported.
Many inside the Immortal Shan changed expressions. In this age without gods, Venerable Sages were rare to see. For the Stone Kingdom to send three of them was shocking.
“The Kings of the Stone Kingdom have come. Could they be targeting us?” The elder with the green wooden staff looked grim, sensing an ominous vibe.
At the front gate, the Wise Prince, the War Prince, and Peng Jiu stood in a line. Behind them were many mighty figures, all kings and lords, clad in armor gleaming coldly, each carrying wooden boxes holding precious medicinal herbs.
The famed Peng King mentioned was none other than Peng Jiu, personally crowned by Shi Hao.
“Let the Kings enter,” finally said the Qin Clan, opening their gates to receive the guests. They guessed their visit was for Shi Hao, dreading possible conflict.
However, the Immortal Shan residents felt genuinely alarmed. Three Venerable Sages leading the charge, each carrying divine artifacts—the sheer display of power was intimidating. If tensions escalated, the consequences would be dire.
Even more surprising was that not a single common soldier accompanied them; every individual trailing behind them were kings and lords. This group of powerful figures was strong enough to eradicate an entire major sect!
Following Shi Hao’s accident, the War Prince, Peng Jiu, and others mobilized every resource. They gathered ancient prescriptions, petitioned for saintly herbs from all sects, sparing nothing to save Shi Hao’s life, whatever the cost.
Now, they had brought an abundance of pills, even securing one saintly herb to preserve Shi Hao’s life.
One must consider how rare such sacred herbs were in the world—only a few ancient divine mountains, or immortal inheritances like the Western Sect, could possibly possess one.
One could only imagine the immense effort it took for Peng Jiu and his group to obtain it.
As for the rest of the spiritual pills and such, they brought countless varieties, stacking them up like a pile of grain rather than medicine.
“Your Majesty!”
“Human Emperor!”
When several elder kings saw Shi Hao’s pale, lifeless face, their voices trembled, nearly shedding tears. Was this still the same Xiao Shi who once shook heaven and earth?
He was covered in wounds, his body cracking like fragile porcelain, on the verge of falling apart, completely devoid of color. This was far from the heroic, triumphant figure who once commanded the realm.
On that day, disregarding his life, Shi Hao entered the palace alone to save Qin Feng and the elder kings, ensuring their survival. But since then, he had been perpetually engaged in divine warfare, ultimately ending up in this state.
“Your Majesty, you must hold on! Live!” One elder king said.
The room filled with people from the Stone Kingdom, all royal nobles, yet Shi Hao remained with closed eyes, in a perpetual coma.
“Bring a bowl to dissolve this half of the Saintly Elixir!” The War Prince commanded.
Besides one sacred herb, they also obtained half a Saintly Elixir, a miraculous remedy of immense potency.
Shortly, the Qin Clan brought a jade bowl emitting spiritual energy and shimmering with radiant light.
The War Prince poured some spiritual liquid into the bowl, intending to dissolve the Saintly Elixir for Shi Hao to ingest, to slow down his deterioration and fortify his life force.
“Hmm, something is amiss; there’s a hint of restless energy within this bowl!” The War Prince, versed deeply in the art of healing, was the one to dissolve the Saintly Elixir.
Quickly he poured the liquid out, keeping it suspended in midair away from the bowl, furrowing his brows, inspecting it closely, and finally erupting in rage.
“Who brought this bowl? They want to die?” His brows furrowed downward, fiery glints shooting from his eyes.
To an average Venerable Sage, this bowl’s nature would be imperceptible, but the War Prince was meticulous, recalling once seeing a similar one, and hence detected the anomaly.
“This bowl only appears to be a spiritual relic but is actually a cursed vessel of misfortune. If continuously used, it would severely harm the patient!”
When the War Prince exposed the truth, all the monarchs from the Stone Kingdom exploded with anger.
“Come here, you!” Peng Jiu extended a giant hand, grabbing the neck of the servant who brought the bowl, lifting him up, while the man’s eyes rolled back, nearly losing consciousness.
Without saying more, the elder kings probed his spiritual mind. However, this was only a subordinate clueless about the details, but they accidentally uncovered another secret.
“What! Previously, someone tried to kill the Stone Emperor, but it was resolved by the Emperor himself?!” The Wise Prince stood up furiously, his hair bristling back with anger.
“Do you Qin Clan want annihilation? Want total extinction?!” The War Prince roared, his voice shaking palace halls far and wide.
“Who dares to act so audaciously, arriving at our Immortal Shan yet being so disrespectful!?” Came a distant reply as a group of elders appeared.
“You people have harmed our Stone Emperor, feigning virtue. Do you dare think of courting death?!” One relatively “young” royal lord shouted.
“Our clan has kindly rescued Xiao Shi. Yet you, ungrateful lot, slander us further. What logic is this?” The old woman with the green wooden staff said darkly.
“Bullshit rescue!” Roared Peng Jiu, immediately striking out, “From your arrogant use of ‘Xiao Shi’ to address our Stone Emperor, your true intentions are evident.”
He transformed into a golden talon, dazzling and razor-sharp, huge enough to engulf her completely.
“How dare you!” The old woman clearly held significant status. Swinging her green wooden staff, a treasure artifact, she aimed to resist.
“What dare I not do!” The Peng King bellowed back. The golden talon descended, shattering the wooden staff and grabbing her up like a chicken, nearly choking her breath.
“Reckless!” An immense pressure surged forth as a Venerable Onefrom the Qin Clan stepped in.
“You are the reckless one!” The Wise King struck, repelling the Venerable Oneback.
“You Immortal Shan dare harm our kind like this—more than once. What have you done to our Stone Emperor? Do you truly want annihilation?!” The War King bellowed fiercely, shaking the entire Immortal Shan.
Shi Zi Ling and his wife stood guarding Shi Hao’s bed without intervening, their fury also ignited, never did they expect these covert plots and actions from the others.
“Such arrogance! You actually threaten to eradicate our Immortal Shan?” The Venerable Oneof the Qin Clan angrily thundered.
“So what if we eradicate you? Does the Stone Kingdom fear you? You have harmed our Human Emperor. Annihilating you holds no concern!” The War King coldly retorted.
Meanwhile, the Wise King and Peng King both stepped forward, not uttering a word, taking out divine artifacts from behind their backs, ready to unleash their most powerful attacks at any moment.
The people of Immortal Shan shivered—these were three Venerable One, the world’s current pinnacle warriors, capable of eradicating an entire great sect.
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