Chapter Eighty-Four: Disagreeing at the Drop of a Hat, Drawing Swords Against One Another

Eating a heavy meal of meat and alcohol early in the morning was not something Chen Hongxu was quite used to. However, in this world, this type of breakfast seemed to be the mainstream, considered quite normal.

Picking out a smaller rib from the platter, Chen Hongxu examined it for a moment. He could not tell what kind of animal the meat came from, but he was certain of one thing—it was definitely not human.

Relieved somewhat, he took a bite. It was full of grease, but the taste turned out much better than expected. There was no greasy, cloying sensation; instead, a comforting stream of fluid flowed down his throat and into his stomach. He figured this special sensation must be unique to the world of the fourth layer.

Seeing that the elderly patriarch of the Li clan showed no intention of continuing the discussion about the arrival of the immortal masters while eating, Chen Hongxu simply buried his head and devoured his food wholeheartedly.

A moment later, having finished the breakfast at lightning speed—and after Qi Hui was led away by a maid clearing the tableware—the old man brought Chen Hongxu to a study that looked somewhat aged. "Feel free to look around. The things in here might even have a history older than the Immortal Mountain..."

Not understanding the hidden meaning behind the old man's words, Chen Hongxu was nevertheless captivated by the books in the study. Many of them were covered with a thick layer of dust, looking as though they had not been flipped through for a very long time.

Chen Hongxu picked one at random, patted the dust off the cover, and after browsing through a few pages, his expression shifted from casual to solemn.

After a moment, Chen Hongxu furrowed his brow, closed the book, raised his head to look at the old man, and asked uncertainly, "What does the patriarch mean by this?"

"Hehe..." The Li elder chuckled and said, "Just as the book says, the ancestors of my Li clan were actually imprisoned here by this damn thing. I want to make a deal with you."

Indeed, very few things could startle someone as knowledgeable as Chen Hongxu. Yet, upon seeing the contents of the book just now, he realized that the Li clan actually possessed records concerning the outside world, presumably because they were unwilling to remain trapped within this limited space.

"What kind of deal?" Chen Hongxu asked, his eyes narrowing.

"My entire clan, plus several other tribes whose strength is comparable to ours, will assist you in crusading against the Immortal Mountain. In return, you will grant us our freedom after you leave in the future. It's as simple as that," the old man said calmly.

"Huh?" Chen Hongxu was stunned. He could not figure out how the old man had discerned that his trip to the Immortal Mountain was to cause trouble. Looking down at himself and seeing nothing unusual, he voiced his doubts.

"There are no walls in the world that are completely airtight. You must know that the ordinary guards on the Immortal Mountain are chosen from our major clans, so naturally, certain news reaches us first. Although it may only be fragments, when it comes to divination and calculation, even that heaven-defying immortal probably cannot rival ancient tribes with a history as long as ours."

"But after so many years, haven't you been living well enough? Is there any need to take the risk to see the outside world?" Having stayed here for some time, Chen Hongxu was already aware of the passage of time relative to the outside, so he was not particularly in a rush.

Of course, calculated this way, the Li clan's existence in this world likely spanned tens of millions of years. According to the conventional wisdom of tribes, isn't survival the most important thing?

"If everything were as prosperous as it appears on the surface, naturally I wouldn't waste people and money to take a gamble, but..."

As their conversation with the old man deepened, Chen Hongxu finally learned the secret of how the heaven-defying immortal achieved immortality, and understood why the old man was so resolute about leaving. As for how the old man managed to figure out he was an outsider, Chen Hongxu still could not quite figure it out, and he had no idea whether the old man's explanation was true or false.

"With the Immortal Mountain sealed, immortal masters cannot possibly appear from the outside world—unless they are pseudo-immortal masters or outsiders. Judging by your age and strength, coupled with the timing of the Immortal Mountain's closure and the heavenly secrets I glimpsed, this breakthrough and opportunity must rest upon you."

In the days that followed, Chen Hongxu continued to be on guard against the fiery enthusiasm of the Li clan's female population. Through various encounters, he discovered that a woman's resourcefulness was indeed boundless.

Of course, he had also grown accustomed to Qi Hui's resentful glances, or perhaps he simply never cared to begin with.

As for Qi Hui's Ultimate Yin Constitution, Chen Hongxu had also come to understand a great deal about it. It was a physique that, once consummated, could rapidly enhance a man's strength—no wonder it was a coveted treasure in the eyes of the immortal masters...

Ten days spent in the Li clan passed in the blink of an eye. Early on this particular morning, as usual, the able-bodied men went out to hunt while the women farmed and wove within the tribe, seemingly completely oblivious to the events about to transpire.

The day grew bright. Judging by the time system of the fourth layer, it should have been roughly noon...

The patriarch of the Li clan walked out of his house on foot, stood upon a high platform, and looked up at the sky, as if waiting for something to happen.

Meanwhile, the Li clan members remaining at the stronghold instinctively stopped what they were working on, waiting expressionlessly—or perhaps with a trace of numbness—for the impending events.

Standing among the crowd, Chen Hongxu distinctly sensed a shift in the atmosphere. He pulled aside a young man he had grown familiar with over the past few days and asked, "Why are you all...?"

"The immortal masters are coming!" The young man glanced at Chen Hongxu and sighed.

"Could it be that the entire Li clan already knows about the plan to launch a counterattack?" Chen Hongxu shook his head, brushing aside this unrealistic thought, utterly puzzled.

Little did he know that while the arrival of immortal masters might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for minor tribes, to these major clans, immortal masters were entirely like locusts. Setting aside minor nuisances such as plundering the tribe's female members, even the treasures and accumulated resources of the tribe would be completely stripped bare by them...

Before long, a mass of black dots appeared in the distant azure sky, looking densely packed, truly resembling a swarm of locusts sweeping across the territory.

A moment later, the dark shadows grew larger, and it became visible to the naked eye that it was a group of people...

The elderly Li clan leader furrowed his brow slightly and transmitted his voice to Chen Hongxu: "Do not act rashly in a moment. There seem to be rather many immortal masters coming this time..."

Chen Hongxu returned the old man a reassuring look.

Shortly after, the group from the sky landed on the ground. The old man and his clansmen stepped forward to greet them. Before the old man could speak, a youthful leader among the newcomers smiled and said to his companions: "The women of this Li clan are the most flavorful. Not to mention their fiery enthusiasm, their physical flexibility is also second to none. Of course, when it comes to looks, I don't need to waste my breath—everyone's eyes are sharp enough."

"Li Haiwei, since this Li clan gave birth to you and raised you, you naturally know them best. Since we've come all this way, you can arrange it as you see fit. Just don't talk big now and end up presenting women who are unfit to be seen," a handsome youth wearing a purple-gold crown beside him laughed and bantered.

"Naturally! Senior Brother Kong can just leave the arrangements to junior brother!"

With a smile, Li Haiwei finished speaking, turned to look at the elder who had come forward to welcome them, straightened his face, and said, "Didn't you hear what we just said? Are you deaf? Why aren't you making arrangements yet?"

"Little Li..."

"Call me Immortal Master! What is your status? Is 'Little Li' a name for you to use?" Li Haiwei interrupted the old man with a cold sneer, shouting angrily, "If you don't go make the arrangements right now, wiping out your Li clan will be a matter of a snap of the fingers. If you're smart, perhaps your Li clan can linger on a bit longer."

The old man's breathing visibly quickened. A woman standing behind him glared fiercely at Li Haiwei and raised a hand to stroke the old man's back, soothing his breath.

Chen Hongxu recognized this woman; she was the very first one who had come to invite him to dance that day, and she was also the old man's granddaughter.

Li Haiwei naturally had noticed this woman long ago, but he had to put on airs first—a habit he had picked up on the Immortal Mountain. Now that he had finished putting on airs, his gaze naturally drifted toward her voluptuous figure, and he smiled, saying, "Li Lu, today you are mine."

"Bah!" Li Lu wore a look of bitter hatred, curled her lip, and said, "With an ungrateful dog like you, even if your old lady gave herself to a stray dog, I wouldn't succumb to you."

"Tsk, tsk!" Li Haiwei lowered his head and chuckled, saying, "How is it I remember someone having rather good oral skills? Could it be you've found another lover? I just wonder if your flute-playing technique has improved even further?"

Li Lu smiled radiantly, turned her head to look at Chen Hongxu, and said, "Darling, do you think I'm any good?"

Shifting the trouble onto someone else, Chen Hongxu was naturally unfazed; he just hadn't figured out the relationship between Li Haiwei and the Li clan yet. He didn't want to step forward, but Li Haiwei was determined to force him into the spotlight.

Li Haiwei's expression turned cold. He shoved aside the members of the Li clan, came up to Chen Hongxu, looked him up and down, and said, "A kept trash, where's your little lapdog? Wearing second-hand shoes from your lord here, I just wonder if your life will last long enough."

"He was originally a child of our Li clan, and he and Lu Lu were childhood sweethearts, but ever since he went up the Immortal Mountain..."

Accompanied by the sigh transmitted from the elderly Li clan leader, Chen Hongxu made his move. In this lifetime, he did not hate petty villains, nor did he hate people who plotted against him; what he despised most were ungrateful wretches. He raised a hand, gripped Li Haiwei's jaw, and forced his mouth open.

This Li Haiwei, who possessed top-tier combat strength even in the fourth layer of the world, didn't even manage to see how Chen Hongxu had moved.

Chen Hongxu remained expressionless. Holding Li Haiwei with one hand, a cluster of intertwined white and red light rapidly took shape in his other hand. Faintly, a ferocious dagger materialized in his grasp.

Chen Hongxu glanced sideways at Li Haiwei, who was clueless and wore a trace of terror on his face, thrust the dagger in his hand straight down into that open mouth, and casually gave it a vicious twist.

Amidst the horrified gasps of the crowd, Chen Hongxu tossed away Li Haiwei—whose mouth was continuously gushing blood—with a backhand motion, and said flatly, "Sharp-tongued, but unfortunately your tongue is no good."

Domineering and majestic, drawing his blade the moment a disagreement arose—this was pure individual heroism. Yet, in a world that revered strength, coupled with Chen Hongxu's chaste and aloof conduct during his time there, it instantly conquered all the women of the Li clan.

Meanwhile, the immortal masters and servants who had accompanied Li Haiwei stared with wide-eyed disbelief, fixing venomous glares on Chen Hongxu as they roared, "How dare you?!"

Chen Hongxu's previous actions had been completed in the blink of an eye. In their minds, Chen Hongxu must have launched a sneak attack and resorted to some underhanded methods to achieve this.

Chen Hongxu's eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly walked toward the crowd, and as he passed the elderly Li clan leader, he said, "Shall I handle this?"

The Li clan elder smiled and nodded.

Chen Hongxu smiled as well, kicked away a servant who was rushing to check on Li Haiwei's injuries, and then casually planted his foot right onto Li Haiwei's face. The provocative and overbearing gesture made the eyes of the women behind him brim with amorous desire.