FVN Chapter 618 Who said our family is dead? Here's your head!
Chapter 618 Who said our family is dead? Here's your head!
Dozens of miles outside Zhenhai Pass, a bluish-gray figure broke through the gray mist of the boundless sea. He had a white face, no beard, and a calm expression. It was Chen Fan.
Seeing this, Zhao Ying quickly stepped forward and, from a distance, cupped her hands and smiled, saying, "Lord Chen! Today you return in triumph! I have prepared a banquet in the pass to welcome you back! This time, you have slain Li Jiuyuan and destroyed Black Reef Island. Such achievements are rare even in our East China Sea army. I must drink three hundred cups with you!"
Chen Fan landed in front of him, cupped his hands in return, and said in his usual calm tone, "I appreciate Your Highness's hospitality. However, the mission deadline is approaching, and I need to return to the capital immediately to complete the task. So, let's skip the welcome banquet and talk again another time."
Hearing him say this, Zhao Ying didn't dare to insist on keeping him. She quickly stepped aside to lead the way and personally escorted him to the military formation's teleportation point, her attitude being many times more enthusiastic than last time.
As they parted, he solemnly cupped his hands to Chen Fan and said, "Lord Chen, if you ever come to the East Sea again, you must visit my camp. I owe you a drink."
Chen Fan nodded slightly, turned around, and stepped into the teleportation array. With a flash of light, his figure disappeared from the array platform.
……
The Imperial City of Zhao, the Hall of Offerings and Official Business.
This day marked the final deadline for Chen Fan after he received the mission.
The sun had just passed noon when a large number of people had already gathered in the government office.
Fourth Prince Zhao Yu stood in the hall, waving a jade-ribbed folding fan, followed by several trusted retainers and the fat steward who had been publicly reprimanded by the First Prince.
He clearly came here today specifically to wait for Chen Fan, or more accurately, to wait for Chen Fan to not return.
"It's the last day." Zhao Yu closed his folding fan, tapping it lightly in his palm, a gloating smile playing on his lips. "I've said it before, a eunuch in the late Nascent Soul stage going to kill a demonic cultivator in the early Deity Transformation stage is just courting death. Brother, your Chen Gongfeng is probably already food for the demons of the Boundless Sea, isn't he? What a pity, what a pity, a talent who's number one in both alchemy and formations, just like that, perished in the Boundless Sea. Brother, you knew what kind of person Li Jiuyuan was, didn't you stop him?"
The eldest prince, Zhao Yan, sat on the other side of the hall, his face expressionless, but the fingers on the armrest tightened unconsciously.
He didn't respond to Zhao Yu's words, but simply picked up his teacup and took a sip.
He realized that he hadn't received any news from Chen Fan in the past month, and the people he sent to Donghai to investigate hadn't sent back any information either.
It would be a lie to say I'm not worried.
It should be noted that Chen Fan was a top-tier retainer whom he had personally recruited. He was first in both alchemy and formation making. He had publicly humiliated Zhao Yu in the Hall of Official Affairs and then helped him win back some ground in the Hall of Respect.
If such a person were to perish in the Boundless Sea, it would not only be a loss of a capable man for him, but also a heavy blow to his open and covert struggle with Lao Si.
Especially at this critical juncture, the king is preparing to go into seclusion to break through to the Void Refinement Realm. Before going into seclusion, he will conduct a talent test on his princes, and the winner will become the regent.
Zhao Yan is currently in dire need of capable personnel, and every gold medal awarded is a bargaining chip for him in the assessment.
Han Cen and Ouyang Ye stood behind the eldest prince, their expressions also not very good.
Seeing that Chen Fan had not returned for a long time, the two of them felt uneasy.
They genuinely admired Chen Fan, not only because of his mastery of alchemy and formations, but also because his dignified and assertive argument in the government hall reminded them of the backbone they had in their youth.
Seeing that Zhao Yan didn't respond, Zhao Yu became even more smug. He turned to his trusted retainer behind him and laughed, "I've said it before, alchemy formations and real combat are two different things. You think you can go to the Boundless Sea and kill Nascent Soul demon cultivators just because you've refined a few pills in the alchemy room and broken a few formations on the array platform? Isn't that just being all talk and no action? Li Jiuyuan has roamed the Boundless Sea for hundreds of years, and no fewer than a hundred righteous cultivators have died at his hands, including many early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators of the same level. A late-stage Nascent Soul eunuch, someone who doesn't even dare to step onto the arena, going to kill such a ruthless character? Isn't that just courting death?"
The trusted retainer quickly echoed, "Your Highness is absolutely right. Chen Fan is just lucky to have won two first places, and he thinks he's invincible. How can the Boundless Sea be compared to the alchemy room and array platform? In my opinion, he probably won't even get to see Li Jiuyuan before being surrounded and killed by the demonic cultivators on the island."
The portly steward, beaming, leaned in even closer: "Your Highness is wise. That Chen Fan was so arrogant in the Hall of State Affairs last time, relying on Your Highness's backing. Now look what's happened; he's even lost his life. So, it's true that people should know their own limitations. If you don't have the ability, don't take on a job you're not qualified for..."
Before he could finish speaking, a soft footstep sound came from outside the office.
The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, the rhythm so steady it was almost rigid, as if measured with a ruler.
As the footsteps drew closer, a thin, bluish-gray figure stepped across the threshold of the government office.
It was Chen Fan.
All the noise in the hall stopped abruptly at that moment.
Zhao Yu's folding fan froze in mid-air, and the gloating smile on his face was frozen in place before he could even wipe it off.
The fat butler opened his mouth, letting out a muffled gurgling sound.
Those trusted retainers who had just been echoing and mocking him looked at each other, unsure of what expression to make.
Zhao Yan abruptly stood up from his seat, a hint of undisguised surprise flashing in his eyes.
Han Cen and Ouyang Ye both breathed a sigh of relief, and genuine smiles appeared on their faces.
Chen Fan walked straight to the center of the hall without looking to either side. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he untied a storage bag with dried bloodstains, reached inside, grabbed a bloody head, and tossed it aside.
The head rolled a few times on the bluestone ground before finally stopping three feet in front of Zhao Yu.
The deep-set eye sockets on the head still held the terror and anger of the person before death. The eerie green ghost fire had long been extinguished, but the remnants of the Nascent Soul level demonic energy still seeped out from the head, allowing all the cultivators present to clearly sense the person's cultivation level before death!
"Li Jiuyuan's head is here." Chen Fan's voice was calm as ever. "The mission jade slip requires his head and his life-bound demon core as proof. The demon core is here; please verify it, steward."
He then took out a dark red magic core from his storage bag and placed it on the table.
Three crimson demonic runes flowed endlessly across the surface of the demonic core, emanating a terrifying, god-level demonic power.
It should be known that this demonic core cannot be faked. The demonic core of a Nascent Soul level demonic cultivator is fundamentally different from that of a Spirit Transformation level demonic cultivator. The enshrined monks and deacons present were all knowledgeable people, and they could tell the difference between the real and fake with just one glance.
The room was deathly silent.
The fat butler looked at the bloody head at his feet, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
He had just been mocking Chen Fan for not even being able to see Li Jiuyuan, but in the blink of an eye, Li Jiuyuan's head was thrown in front of him.
The unseeing eyes on that head stared straight at him, startling him so much that he stumbled back several steps, his back hitting the corner of the table. He winced in pain but dared not utter a sound.