After Yao Chen returned to his storage ring to recuperate, Hun Changqing channeled a burst of Dou Qi into Hun Ye's body. He then carefully selected several healing pills from the ring, and after a slight twitch of heartache, he fed them to Hun Ye.
Seeing Hun Ye's previously emaciated body, weakened by the Yin Demon's corruption, gradually regain its fullness, and his skull-like head beginning to take shape, Hun Changqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, in a flash, he arrived before the gates of the Underworld Palace, where the array had been deactivated.
"Greetings, Palace Master!"
The people who had maintained the Underworld Palace's array bowed respectfully to Hun Changqing. The Dou Zong and Dou Huang experts among them, seeing Hun Changqing for the first time, were filled with admiration.
Although they were maintaining the grand formation, they had taken in Hun Changqing's overwhelming power. While they knew their Palace Master was a Dou Zun expert, they had never heard of him killing Dou Zun experts they could only dream of as easily as slaughtering dogs.
Previously, facing so many Dou Zun experts, both of them had already despaired. Before Shi Tian and his group arrived, the entire Underworld Palace was in a state of panic, with many fleeing. Medusa, though helpless, could say nothing.
Hun Changqing had told her that this was how the Underworld Palace operated—it was absolutely incompatible with shared hardship, and these people were of no use staying. Therefore, Medusa didn't force them to stay, but instead pinned her hopes on the grand formation Hun Changqing had left behind and Yao Chen. If they could survive this calamity, they could naturally settle scores with the deserters later; if they couldn't, then all of this would be meaningless.
However, this Dou Huang and Dou Zong are different. When recruiting, Medusa was searching for suitable members for the great formation left by Hun Changqing. These two were naturally chosen by Medusa. As members of the formation, they were extremely important to the Underworld Palace, and naturally, they couldn't be allowed to run rampant like ordinary members. Instead, they were threatened with the poison pills left by Hun Changqing, so the two had no way to escape.
Besides the two who had never seen Hun Changqing before, Elder Yingshan trembled instantly upon seeing him, his eyes filled with unparalleled fear. He recalled the terror Hun Changqing had instilled in him when this place was still called Demon Flame Valley. Hun
Changqing looked at the group bowing to him, nodded indifferently, and then tossed the unconscious Hun Ye to Hai Bodong. Looking at Hai Bodong's bewildered eyes, Hun Changqing spoke.
"Hai Bodong, this man's cultivation has been sealed by me, and he is currently unconscious. Take him away and bring him to me when he wakes up."
Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong looked at the unconscious Hun Ye in his arms, his eyes twitching slightly. For a moment, he felt a sense of despair. He had noticed that every time he met Hun Changqing, Hun Changqing would entrust someone to him. The same was true for the old man from Eagle Mountain. However, despite his thoughts, Hai Bodong dared not show the slightest negligence on the surface. After respectfully responding, he led Hun Ye into the Underworld Palace.
At this moment, Gu Xun'er, seeing Hun Changqing's actions, had a hint of curiosity flash in her eyes. She knew that normally, given Hun Changqing's personality, he was unlikely to leave anyone alive if they infringed upon his interests. Could this person from the Soul Palace be special? Is he some distant relative of his?
Several guesses flashed through Gu Xun'er's mind. She was extremely concerned about Hun Changqing's every move, wanting to find out everything about him and even wanting to strip him naked and imprison him in her arms.
"You still know how to come back?"
Just after Hun Changqing finished arranging things for Hun Ye, a voice so cold it seemed to lower the surrounding temperature came from beside him. Medusa appeared beside Hun Changqing with her arms crossed.
"If the Palace Master has no further instructions, I will take my leave."
Medusa's icy voice not only made Hun Changqing pause, but also caused cold sweat to instantly bead on the foreheads of the people in front of him. They quickly bowed to Hun Changqing and Medusa before retreating.
"Ahem, Medusa."
Looking at the retreating crowd, Hun Changqing glanced at Medusa, whose pretty face was covered in frost, and coughed lightly, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. At the same time, Hun Changqing's mind raced, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse to deal with Medusa.
"Whoosh!"
Just as the atmosphere became somewhat awkward and the surrounding air seemed to solidify, a loud whooshing sound rang in their ears, and an energy wave spread out around them. Hun Changqing was startled at first, then subconsciously raised his hand to defend himself. However, when he looked closely, he discovered that a figure enveloped in a purple energy ball was shooting towards him. Hun Changqing naturally knew who this purple figure was and abruptly stopped his movement.
Then, the purple figure darted directly into Hun Changqing's arms. Hun Changqing instinctively caught her, then looked down at Zi Yan, who was now nestled in his arms, rubbing her round little head against everything. Hun Changqing's lips twitched slightly.
Upon seeing this, Medusa, who had been suppressing her longing and trying to scold Hun Changqing, instantly lost her composure. Several veins bulged on her smooth forehead, and Medusa's fists clenched! At
this moment, Gu Xun'er looked at Zi Yan, who was moving around so freely in the place she had always longed for, and felt a surge of emotion. It was as if something that should have been hers was being wantonly played with, and she could only watch helplessly as it was taken from her.
In an instant, Gu Xun'er's fighting spirit seemed poised to erupt, with energy fluctuations involuntarily emanating from her body, extremely explosive and chaotic. A chillingly fierce light appeared in Gu Xun'er's eyes as she coldly looked at Zi Yan in Hun Changqing's arms.
However, Gu Xun'er quickly calmed her energy, the slightly ferocious expression on her face disappearing, returning to her previous calm demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
But Hun Changqing had indeed sensitively detected the energy emanating from Gu Xun'er's body. He couldn't help but glance sideways at the now calm Gu Xun'er, a slight doubt in his heart, but he also secretly became wary of her. He didn't believe that the energy fluctuations he had just detected were his imagination.
After regaining her composure, Gu Xun'er noticed a hint of doubt in Hun Changqing's somewhat helpless expression. Her gaze sharpened as she stared at Zi Yan, beginning to speculate about Zi Yan's identity. She first ruled out the possibility that Hun Changqing was so depraved as to prey on a child. Then, Gu Xun'er subtly shifted her gaze to Medusa, pondering further.
Could this little girl be Hun Changqing's...?
A horrifying thought flashed through Gu Xun'er's mind. This conjecture, almost instantly, caused her heart to tremble, and a murderous intent spread through her. However, Gu Xun'er quickly frowned again; the timing didn't add up.
This Zi Yan looked almost ten years old. Ten years ago, Hun Changqing was still just a nobody in the Hun Clan. Gu Xun'er also knew when Hun Changqing left the clan—about four or five years ago. As soon as he left, he went to the Xiao family, one of the eight great clans. This meant she was Hun Changqing's first woman after leaving the clan. Medusa was still after her; it was impossible for him to have a child as old as Zi Yan.
After analyzing the situation, Gu Xun'er's agitated heart calmed down. She even felt a surge of joy at being Hun Changqing's first woman after leaving the clan. But what she didn't know was that when Hun Changqing was around twelve years old and his body was almost fully grown, he began to molest the women near his home. "No matter what happened before, from now on you will only belong to me,"
Gu Xun'er silently said to herself. Then, she gave Medusa a chilling glare. Medusa naturally noticed Gu Xun'er's look. She harbored deep hatred for the woman who had almost killed her.
However, Hun Changqing had told her that the power behind this woman was terrifying beyond their ability to withstand, so they had to give up. Therefore, Medusa had previously ignored Gu Xun'er, preferring to ignore her. But now, seeing Gu Xun'er's icy gaze, Medusa, already somewhat annoyed, felt even more frustrated, wondering what had gotten into this woman.
However, Gu Xun'er only glanced coldly at Medusa before looking away. She knew in her heart that she couldn't touch Medusa in front of Hun Changqing. Before Hun Changqing appeared, Gu Xun'er saw that Medusa was about to die at the hands of Shi Tian, so she didn't plan to take action herself, to avoid trouble if Hun Changqing found out later.
Although Gu Xun'er didn't care about Hun Changqing's opinion, she would be happy to let Medusa die at someone else's hands. However, she didn't expect Hun Changqing to actually be able to return in time, which was a miscalculation on her part. But it didn't matter; there would be plenty of opportunities to kill Medusa in the future. So much time had passed, and Gu Xun'er wasn't in a hurry now.
After shifting her gaze away from Medusa, Gu Xun'er looked at Hun Changqing, who was still holding Zi Yan in his arms. Her face was calm, and she spoke a seemingly casual remark.
"I rarely see you look so helpless. What's wrong? Is this child giving you a headache? Is he your relative's child?"
Hearing Gu Xun'er's words, Hun Changqing's expression froze slightly, his lips twitched slightly, and he subconsciously replied,
"The neighbor's."
Isn't Su Qian from Canaan Academy his good neighbor now?
"What do you mean, relative or neighbor! Master! You've gone astray since you went out! You weren't like this before. You used to tell everyone that I was your good disciple. How come you've become the neighbor's child now?!"
After hearing the conversation between the two, Zi Yan's petite body, which had been wriggling in Hun Changqing's arms, suddenly stopped. She abruptly raised her head, which had been buried deep in his arms, and said to Hun Changqing with a sullen expression.
"Isn't it all because you embarrass me all the time? What kind of behavior is this in public? Get down here right now!"
Hearing Zi Yan's disgruntled words, Hun Changqing gave her a sharp rap on the head as she shook her head, then placed her on the ground. Zi Yan covered her head with her hands, her face showing resentment, her large purple eyes gleaming with a hint of grievance.
"Disciple?"
Gu Xun'er's heart stirred slightly, her gaze sharpening as she looked meaningfully at Zi Yan, who stood beside Hun Changqing looking aggrieved. Although Zi Yan called herself her disciple, it didn't put Gu Xun'er at ease. Zi Yan's demeanor just now didn't seem like that of a proper disciple.
"Alright, Miss Xun'er, these are all my private matters, no need for you to trouble yourself. Now that the farce in my Underworld Palace has come to a complete end, I've just returned and need to reorganize some things. You see..."
Hun Changqing was somewhat flustered by Zi Yan's actions, and seeing Medusa's increasingly icy expression beside him, he felt a headache coming on. He really had no energy left to deal with Gu Xun'er, and directly gave her the order to leave.
"No rush, you've finished dealing with your matters, but we haven't finished ours yet."
Gu Xun'er completely ignored Hun Changqing's intention to leave, instead wearing a calm smile and chuckling as she spoke to him.
Gu Xun'er's words instantly made Hun Changqing's heart skip a beat. His expression immediately became serious, and he glanced slightly at the void not far from everyone, silently watching Gu Ming, before looking at Gu Xun'er.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem quite wary of me?"
Gu Xun'er didn't immediately answer Hun Changqing's question. Instead, she chuckled lightly, her tone playful as she countered.
"I think there's no one on the entire Dou Qi Continent who isn't wary of you, or rather, no one who isn't wary of your father, Gu Yuan, the patriarch of the Gu Clan. But if you really want to make a move, the Hun Clan isn't to be trifled with, and Xiao Yan is still in my hands. You'd better think carefully."
Hun Changqing's face instantly turned cold, and an extremely cold and yin aura began to subtly emanate from his body. Clearly, Hun Changqing was prepared to strike at any moment.
"So many years have passed, and you're still as impatient as ever. Who said I wanted to fight you? Right now, Elder Gu Ming and I are the only two members of the ancient clan in the entire Northwest Continent. The two of us alone can't possibly capture you. Besides coming to watch the show, I also want to make a deal with you."
Gu Xun'er's words caused Hun Changqing's newly formed energy aura to freeze instantly. A hint of doubt flashed in his serious gaze as he looked at Gu Xun'er. Hun Changqing was very puzzled by Gu Xun'er's actions. When did their relationship reach the point where they could do business together? And what kind of deal could he and Gu Xun'er possibly make?
Hun Changqing's eyes flickered with uncertainty. After giving Gu Xun'er a deep look, he finally spoke.
"What deal?"