Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 818: The Sky-Splitting City Lord Arrives

Tang San nodded and said, "Alright. By the way, leave the Celestial Plume with me. I've made some progress in my recent research, and I might need to use its abilities."

Mei Gongzi agreed without hesitation. "Okay."

A silver light flashed and the Celestial Plume appeared in her hand. She handed it to Tang San.

Tang San reached out to take it, but as soon as the Celestial Plume touched his hand, it seemed to sense something. It started to struggle slightly, as if it wanted to return to Mei Gongzi.

The space around it distorted as the aura of the Spacetime Lighthouse enveloped the Celestial Plume, instantly calming it down.

Tang San looked at Mei Gongzi and said seriously, "This is the Peacock Demon clan's ancestral artifact, and it's certainly powerful, but predicting the future inevitably results in a backlash. While this artifact has brought benefits to the Peacock Demon clan, it has also continuously cursed them. Peering into the future shouldn't be done casually, so I plan to make some adjustments to it. If nothing can be done... it may even need to be destroyed. I'll research this in the coming days. When you return, please discuss this with your parents. If they agree, I will proceed. If not, I hope to at least seal this artifact away for good. Otherwise, the Peacock Demon clan will never escape the curse. They could just stop using it, but we both know they won't—the temptation is just too great."

"Alright. I'll let my father know," Mei Gongzi agreed.

Over the next half month, Tang San and Mei Gongzi were both busy. Tang San continued his cultivation while progressing in his research. There was still no movement from the Sea Giant clan, which clearly showed that fulfilling their promise was no easy task and required further preparations.

Meanwhile, Mei Gongzi began preparations to receive the Sky-Splitting City Lord. Kali City was bustling with activity.

Seven days after Mei Gongzi returned to Kali City, Xiao He was teleported to Crescent Island. He had promised Tang San that he would help humanity to the best of his abilities, and he intended to keep his word.

Now that he had received Luo Qingzhu's bloodline, Xiao He progressed rapidly in cultivation. Thanks to Tang San's transformative work on his body and his own familiarity with the Peacock bloodline, his cultivation had risen directly to the third order after the bloodline fusion, and his cultivation was swift. His future prospects seemed rather excellent.

Xiao He also brought Tang San a message: after discussing with Luo Qingzhu, they agreed to let Tang San handle the Celestial Plume; in fact, they were even willing to offer it to him. However, they asked Tang San to provide the Peacock Demon clan with a similar item to safeguard their clan; otherwise, they couldn't justify it to their own people.

Tang San naturally agreed. For him, creating a divine artifact wasn't a difficult task. Now that he had reclaimed his position as the Sea God, he had the abundant resources of the Endless Blue Sea available to him. All he had to do was think of the most suitable one to make.

As for the arrival of the Sky-Splitting City Lord, Xiao He couldn't guess the exact purpose either, but he agreed with Tang San that it had to be some kind of plot aimed at Mei Gongzi. They would just respond as the situation unfolded. With the backing of three Emperors, Kali City was no longer the drifting pile of duckweed it once was.

Half a month later, the Sky-Splitting City's envoy finally arrived.

At high noon, in the distance, a flying carriage convoy could be seen rapidly approaching.

Leading the convoy were large carriages, one pulled by eight Pegasi and two by four Pegasi each, with the steeds fanning out in a V formation. Since the main passenger was not an Emperor, he could not make use of Celestial Steeds; apart from that, however, this formation was the highest level of ceremonial escort. Only the lord of a main city could make use of it and only while on official business.

On the Kali City side, preparations had long since been completed. Thirty-six members of the Peacock Demon clan revealed their true forms, flying in the sky with their tail feathers spread wide. Under the sunlight, they radiated a splendid glow.

Outside the city gate, the streets had been washed clean, and a red carpet was laid out. Mei Gongzi, flanked by the elders of the Peacock Demon clan, stood waiting outside the gate.

When a city lord arrived, it was customary for the hosting city lord to greet them personally.

The flying horse convoy, guided by the members of the Peacock Demon clan, slowly descended outside the city gate. This was also part of the protocol; if the visitor was not an Emperor, entering a main city without landing outside first was a clear provocation. Only Emperors had the privilege to fly freely anywhere.

The Behemoth clan's convoy clearly had no intention of offending the Peacock Demon clan. They landed a kilometer from the city gate, and the flying horses retracted their wings as they pulled the carriages forward.

Mei Gongzi stood at the center of the red carpet, waiting. The convoy halted a hundred meters away, and one by one, towering warriors of the Behemoth clan stepped out of their carriages.

These Behemoths were all Demon Kings or above; this much was evident from their physiques. Only Demon King Behemoths could shrink their bodies to around three meters in height. Otherwise, an adult Behemoth would stand up to twenty meters tall, and no flying carriage could accommodate them.

Sixteen Demon Kings and four Great Demon Kings alighted from their carriages, lining up neatly at the front of the procession. Then, from the largest carriage in the center, one more figure descended. He was surrounded by the many Demon Kings and Great Demon Kings as he made his way toward Mei Gongzi.

This figure was tall for a human, but nevertheless appeared more human-like than the average Behemoth. He stood around two meters tall, had short and spiky hair that looked like steel needles, and was dressed in dark gold luxurious robes. He looked to be twenty-something in human years, and in general much like a fairly muscular human, with a harmonious and pleasant-looking physique. But even though he was nowhere near as big and muscular as the Demon Kings and Great Demon Kings around him, his figure radiated terrifying power, as if a titanic beast rested deep within him.

He was indeed handsome and masculine; he had a resolute face, and his eyes were sharp and piercing. His strides were powerful, like the steps of a dragon or tiger. Though he was surrounded by the Behemoth clan's elite warriors, his presence was not diminished in the slightest—if anything, the contrast made him look even more imposing.

On the Kali City side, Mei Gongzi stood at the forefront, flanked by four Great Demon King elders of the Peacock Demon clan. Luo Qingzhu was among them; she stood just half a step behind Mei Gongzi and a little to the side.

In addition to the four Great Demon Kings, there were also sixteen Demon King members of the Peacock Demon clan. Further back, on either side, stood thirty-two Lion-Tiger clan warriors. Each of them stood over 2.5 meters tall, with burly builds that exuded powerful auras.

Since their bloodline conflict was resolved, the Lion-Tiger clan's overall strength had been steadily growing. Though these warriors were not yet Demon Kings, they were carefully selected ninth-order elites from the clan, and with the strength of their first-tier bloodlines, they were no less intimidating than their Behemoth counterparts.

The Sky-Splitting City Lord strode forward, while Mei Gongzi approached with measured steps, following the ceremonial protocol agreed upon by both sides.

When they were about five meters apart, both sides stopped.

The Sky-Splitting City Lord nodded to Mei Gongzi in greeting. "City Lord Mei, you certainly live up to the rumors. Truly, you are a peerless beauty. Jin Anguo extends his respects."

Mei Gongzi returned the gesture with a nod. "You flatter me, City Lord Jin. Please..."

She stepped aside to make way.

Jin Anguo nodded once more, then walked beside her, and they entered Kali City together.

The entire process followed prearranged ceremonial protocols. Once the two city lords entered Kali City side by side, the greeting ceremony was over. Both parties then boarded their carriages again and headed toward the city lord's mansion. A welcome meal had been prepared, and Mei Gongzi hosted it personally.