After the hundred members of the Jinwu Li Clan were utterly routed and defeated by Qiānlíng, Jin Lie could no longer continue 'feigning illness' inside the grand chariot. He rushed out and looked at the Jinwu Li Clan members—each one wounded, bleeding, and battered, lying on the ground either unconscious or wailing in agony.
Jin Lie trembled with rage, his aged face deathly pale, his heart filled with uncontrollable fury. He glared fixedly at Qiānlíng and spat out each word through gritted teeth: "What an ignorant little immortal who doesn't know her own mortality! Good! Very good! How dare you lay hands on and injure members of our Jinwu Li Clan! It seems you've truly grown tired of living! Today, this old man will definitely have you sliced into a thousand pieces to vent the hatred in my heart!"
Beside himself with anger, Jin Lie produced an immortal talisman and flung it into the air. The talisman bloomed mid-air, transforming into the shape of a Golden Crow.
Everyone knew.
This was a message talisman.
Everyone also knew that after Jin Lie sent this message talisman, every member of the Jinwu Li Clan within the Fengyue Minor World—whether descendants of the Li Clan or mortal immortals under their command—would rush over immediately.
"Ling'er, I should originally congratulate you on your greatly increased cultivation, your ascension to the rank of Taibai Golden Immortal, your possession of that magnificent Postnatal Creation, and your comprehension of such exquisite divine sword arts."
At this moment, Xuan Yun walked over and said, "However, I must now remind you that you were truly too impulsive. You should never, ever have laid hands on members of the Jinwu Li Clan, let alone injured them."
Xuan Yun spoke with arrogance: "After all, the Jinwu Li Clan is an immortal family of the Jinwu Secret Realm. Not only does their clan have experts as numerous as clouds, but the mortal immortals under their command number in the tens of millions. Did you think injuring these hundred-plus people would be the end of it? Heh... You're far too naive, do you know that? You've really stirred up a catastrophe this time, one even I cannot protect you from."
Liu Li asked worriedly, "Senior Brother, is it really that serious?"
"It's absolutely, without a doubt, far more serious than you can imagine. If Ling'er had listened to my advice earlier and let me handle it for her, she wouldn't have caused such a disaster. But she was too willful, too ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth."
"I appreciate your kind intentions, Young Master."
Qiānlíng didn't say much more. After nodding her thanks, she walked over to the Firecloud Grand Chariot.
"Sister Ling'er, what should we do now?"
Qiānniǎo originally had many questions she wanted to ask Qiānlíng—like how she cultivated to become a Taibai Golden Immortal, how she tempered the Xiaoqian Mountain Creation to such strength, and how she comprehended the final Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art. Qiānniǎo was far too curious and eager to know.
However.
She also knew now was not the time for such questions, especially after hearing Xuan Yun's words. Her heart was now filled with terror.
"Don't worry, I have my own methods."
Compared to Qiānniǎo's panic, Qiānlíng appeared very calm. Though her beautiful face showed concern, it was only concern—there was no trace of panic.
She walked over, looked at Gu Qingfeng, and said, "First, use your grand chariot to take Qiānniǎo and the others somewhere to hide. I have my own ways to deal with the other members of the Jinwu Li Clan."
"Hide? Hide from what?"
If Qiānlíng looked calm, then Gu Qingfeng appeared more than just calm. He still sat casually on that wide, comfortable chair, legs crossed, leisurely sipping his wine, unhurried as he said, "It's just the Jinwu Li Clan, isn't it? What's there to hide from? Didn't I tell you before? Even if the King of Heaven himself showed up, I'd make him obediently roll back where he came from."
Qiānniǎo was on the verge of tears, shouting, "Little Drunkard! At a time like this, can you please stop bragging! I'm begging you, please!"
"Little sister, don't be afraid. With me here, the sky won't fall."
Perhaps tired from sitting, Gu Qingfeng stood up and stretched vigorously. "Having watched this spectacle for so long, it's about time to stretch my limbs."
As he spoke, he jumped down from the grand chariot. Qiānniǎo wanted to pull him back but was stopped by Qiānlíng.
"Sister Ling'er, why are you stopping me? Didn't you say we should go somewhere to hide first? Then hurry up and pull Little Drunkard back up so we can all make a run for it!"
"If he says there's no need to hide," Qiānlíng said, gazing at Gu Qingfeng's retreating back, "then there's no need to hide."
"What?" Qiānniǎo wondered if she'd heard wrong, asking in astonishment, "No way? Sister Ling'er, you believe his nonsense?"
"I believe him."
"Sister Ling'er, have you lost your mind? How can you believe Little Drunkard's nonsense?"
Qiānlíng said nothing more, only watching Gu Qingfeng in that moment.
Beside them, Horse King looked at Qiānlíng, then at Gu Qingfeng. He couldn't figure out what game these two were playing. Suddenly, he heard Gu Qingfeng call his name. Horse King responded, "Great Lord, what do you need from this humble one?"
"Come over here. There's a good thing for you."
Though Horse King didn't know what it was about, he obediently jumped down from the grand chariot and walked to Gu Qingfeng's side. "Great Lord, at this critical juncture, shouldn't we be making a quick escape? What good thing could there possibly be?"
"Want to make a small fortune?"
"This..." Horse King was even more confused but nodded. "Yes."
"Go, strip all these people of their immortal weapons and treasures. Especially their storage rings—I reckon there should be quite a few treasures inside. Strip them all for me."
Upon hearing this, Horse King felt his scalp go numb. He never imagined Gu Qingfeng called him down for such a task. With a mournful face, he said, "Great Lord, please spare me. They're members of the Jinwu Li Clan. If we strip them of their immortal weapons and treasures today, they'll definitely not let me go."
"Do you think if you don't strip them of their immortal weapons and treasures today, they'll let you go?"
Hearing this, Horse King thought it over carefully and found it reasonable. After all, he'd already been recognized, and practically everyone knew he was in cahoots with the Great Lord of the Xiaoluo Secret Realm. There was no running away now; they were all grasshoppers tied to the same string. If caught by the Jinwu Li Clan, death was certain either way. Since that was the case, he might as well die with a full stomach.
With this thought, Horse King was no longer afraid, though he still hesitated somewhat, his heart pounding. After all, he was once from the Jinwu Secret Realm himself, and had even been under Ding Da's command. To say he wasn't scared would be a lie. He swallowed hard and asked, "Really strip them?"
"What? You don't dare?"
Horse King looked at these noble young masters of the Jinwu Li Clan, took several deep breaths, gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and roared, "Screw their ancestors! Since death is certain either way, damn it! Why not do it? I'll do it!"
"Horse Monkey! You little bastard! If you dare lay a hand today, I, Ding, will absolutely—" Ding Da, ignoring his severe injuries, struggled to stand up to stop him. Without even glancing his way, Gu Qingfeng casually flicked a Violet-Gold Heavenly Thunder Talisman. It struck Ding Da on the spot, making his hair stand on end, his entire body smoking as he collapsed back to the ground.
*Crack!*
Another Violet-Gold Heavenly Thunder Talisman, and Ding Da was knocked unconscious outright.
"Take these. If anyone resists, reward them with a Heavenly Thunder Talisman. Aim for the face first, then blast their heavenly crowns."
Gu Qingfeng tossed a stack of Violet-Gold Heavenly Thunder Talismans to Horse King. "Go on. Let them see just how many eyes Horse King truly has."