The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Chapter 731: Chapter 731: Pain

The Ferocious Mountain rebellion that shook the whole Xuan country had finally quieted down.

The Xuan Emperor made a powerful appearance in person, suppressing the turmoil that had nearly engulfed the entire Xuan Country using the majesty of the Ancient Lamp of Flame God.

The rebellion took a heavy toll, with the casualties of the martial artists of Demon Suppressing City becoming particularly appalling.

Meanwhile, numerous martial artists who had come to assist also perished, but for those powerhouses with profound backgrounds, the losses weren’t crippling.

Demon Suppressing City remained standing outside Ferocious Mountain, albeit severely damaged. The city walls had almost fully collapsed, and the city itself was a complete mess. After all, demon beasts had broken in earlier. Although they were wiped out, they managed to inflict serious damage upon Demon Suppressing City.

Bodies were piled up like mountains, both demon beasts and martial artists alike, but overall, the demon beasts suffered greater losses.

However, there were countless demon beasts in Hundred Beast Mountain and even after the turmoil, a considerable number of beasts survived.

Several Demon Kings, however, died horribly under the attack on Demon Suppressing City, dealing a significant blow to the demon beasts of Hundred Beast Mountain.

After all, Demon Kings were rare creatures; every death marked a reduction in their numbers.

The exploration of Hundred Beast Mountain ended hurriedly due to all the events that transpired.

Martial Artists in the mountain were rescued personally by the Demon Suppressing King, and influential figures such as Dugu Nian and Mei Yingxue returned to Demon Suppressing City.

All the survivors returned. However, compared to the original number of people entering Hundred Beast Mountain, the number of survivors was tragically low, not even a tenth of the original.

It could be said that the death toll of martial artists on this journey into Hundred Beast Mountain was even higher than during the rebellion.

Many forces to venture into Hundred Beast Mountain ended up being completely annihilated, with not a single person surviving.

The Shenxiao Sect was no exception.

When elders of the Shenxiao Sect received news of Chi Yunxiao’s death, they were dumbfounded and took a long time to recover.

Even other martial artists could hardly believe it. After all, Chi Yunxiao was amongst the strongest to enter Hundred Beast Mountain – a talent of Xuan Country, a direct heir. Could he really have perished in Hundred Beast Mountain? It seemed implausible!

The elders of Shenxiao Sect simply did not believe it & would only accept this after confirming repeatedly with Mei Yingxue, Wang Erdan, and others.

“Did you hear? It appears that Chi Yunxiao was slain by Crown Prince Zhou Yishui.”

“I never would have thought…”

“Could there be a mistake about this matter?”

“Absolutely true. Mei Yingxue and the Undefeatable Naughty Man both confirmed it.”

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The entire Xuan Country was in an uproar, and the Shenxiao Sect was seething with rage.

After all, Chi Yunxiao was the foremost genius of Shenxiao Sect, with enormous potential. As long as he matured, he was destined to take over the sect.

Most within the Shenxiao Sect saw the adventure into the Hundred Beast Mountain as a mere trial for Chi Yunxiao, given his formidable strength they didn’t foresee any significant issues.

Who would have thought, that Chi Yunxiao would die, and at the hands of Crown Prince Zhou Yishui at that.

Upon confirmation of the news, the Sect Master of Shenxiao Sect roared in outrage and threatened to sever all ties with the royal family of Xuan Country and even summoned all the elders and disciples of Shenxiao Sect that were stationed there to return.

Although no outright confrontation ensued, the actions of the Shenxiao Sect clearly conveyed its dissatisfaction and rage towards the royal family of Xuan Country.

The royal family, of course, promptly responded to clarify that Crown Prince Zhou Yishui did not kill Chi Yunxiao.

However, the course of events took an unexpected turn as Heavenly Fragrance Valley, the Five Elements Sect, and Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance jointly voiced their confirmation that Chi Yunxiao was indeed murdered by Crown Prince Zhou Yishui.

At this point, even the most skeptical had to believe. If all these major forces were saying the same thing, then it couldn’t be untrue.@@novelbin@@

For a time, the Xuan royal family fell silent, neither responding significantly nor explicitly admitting to anything.

The Dugu Family, on the other hand, neither commented nor defended the royal family. They seemingly maintained a neutral stance. Still, their ambiguous attitude led many to speculate, considering how close Dugu Family and the royal family had been in the past.

The voices of Heavenly Fragrance Valley, Five Elements Sect, and Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance raised suspicion among perceptive individuals, hinting at an unusual atmosphere.

The royal family of Xuan Country was undoubtedly the most formidable entity in the nation, no one dared to cross them in the past.

Now, not to mention the incensed Shenxiao Sect and the Pill Alliance’s monumental backing, even the Five Elements Sect and Heavenly Fragrance Valley were openly blaming Zhou Yishui. What did this signify?

It indicated these two powerhouses were already extremely discontented with the royal family; hence, they blamed Zhou Yishui.

“I fear great change is imminent in Xuan Country.” sighed a senior martial artist.

Of course, there was one more piece of news that caused much lament.

That was the death of Fang Lin.

“I heard that Fang Lin defeated Crown Prince Zhou Yishui. Many people saw it with their own eyes.”

“Yes, one of my senior fellow disciples witnessed it outside Demon Suppressing City. Fang Lin did indeed defeat Zhou Yishui.”

“It’s hard to believe that someone could defeat the Crown Prince.”

“It’s a shame that Fang Lin died. If he hadn’t, he might well have become the top young martial artist in Xuan Country.”

“But you can only blame him for being too prominent. Once the Xuan Emperor took action, it would be a miracle if he survived.”

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Fang Lin died. The majority believed he had died at the hands of the Xuan Emperor, but only a very few knew that Fang Lin was actually killed by an attack from expert assassins in the Hidden Kill Hall.

However, clearly, the Hidden Kill Hall’s involvement, indicated the Emperor’s participation, although no evidence for this could be found.

Some lamented at the news of Fang Lin’s death; others reveled in the disaster.

A storm was brewing in the Dugu Family because of Fang Lin’s death.

Lord Fenglei, the head of the Dugu Family, and the rest of the family had long wished for Fang Lin’s death. Now that he was truly dead, they could proceed with marrying off Dugu Nian to the Crown Prince without any hesitation.

Upon returning, Dugu Nian shut herself in her chamber, making no sound.

She isolated herself in there for three full days and nights. On one night, many members of the Dugu Family heard grieving cries coming from her chamber.

On the fourth day, Dugu Nian finally emerged from her chamber. She looked haggard, her eyes were vacant and her face was extremely pale.

It wasn’t until someone else entered her chamber that they saw large bloodstains all over, from where Dugu Nian had vomited blood due to her extreme grief.

Hundred Beast Mountain had returned to its calm state. However, deep within the Mountain, events were still unfolding.

A cold corpse lay on a huge rock. There was no breath, no heartbeat, and no sign of life.