Chapter 656: War Begins

Towering and majestic walls stood at a distance, their array of patterns shimmering with a light that sent chills down the spine, bringing the rarest glimmer of illumination to this otherwise pitch-black market, and allowing Xu Yuan to finally make out the form of the visitor.

Beyond the terrifying, insect-like compound eyes, his pale skin was riddled with fine black fissures, thin as threads, as if they would shatter at any moment.

How grotesque.

Compared to their last meeting, Mu Xingyi had now been transformed entirely into a monster clad in human skin.

After staring at the figure within the stall for several breaths, Xu Yuan chuckled, tossing the yellow fragrant fruit back onto the stall, and pointing upward at the intact protective city canopy, smiling and replying:

"I came here naturally to wait for you. But I'm genuinely curious—how did you manage to get in? This defensive array hasn't been breached yet."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan's gaze grew sharp with scrutiny.

"Is this body a projection?"

Mu Xingyi did not answer Xu Yuan's question.

"This kind of elementary test is not in keeping with your brotherly style."

Xu Yuan did not follow the direction of his companion's words. After a brief pause, he spoke to himself:

"Though we have a past, there is always a distinction between close and distant relations. If your true form were to descend, you would surely not grant me the chance to speak. Therefore, this body you now occupy must be a projection conjured by spellcraft."

Mu Xingyi's form remained hidden within the shadows of the shop:

"This indeed is not my true form."

"Such a skillful maneuver."

Xu Yuan nodded, his long eyes narrowing slightly: "Yet, to create such a projection across the city's protective barrier, I suspect you must have employed the Sacred Source."

Mu Xingyi showed no intention of wasting words with Xu Yuan:

"A projection born of the Sacred Source or not, whether it be my true form or not—compared to these trivial questions, Xu brother, what you truly wish to know is surely the reason for your presence here."

Xu Yuan's lips curled into a faint smile:

"So your purpose must not be to persuade me to surrender?"

Mu Xingyi's expression remained as calm and unhurried as when they first met, his voice soft and soothing.

"I have come here to make a deal with Xu Brother—after all, you once saved my life."

Xu Yuan looked at the once-familiar man now transformed into something beyond human, stroking his chin.

"So you're a man who values feelings, then. But if you say that, it seems clear you're really trying to persuade me to surrender."

After a pause, Mu Xingyi spoke slowly:

"Though Xu Brother is likely to refuse, I still wish to say it plainly—if you are willing to be willingly consumed by Mu Nu, I and Wan Er shall serve the Imperial Household for a hundred years, without regard for life or death."

At this proposal, Xu Yuan could not help but let out a soft, quiet laugh.

"Do you think I'm someone so noble that I'd sacrifice myself for the people of this entire city?"

Mu Xingyi shook his head, speaking gently:

"I mean serving the Imperial Household for a hundred years. The other sages outside don't know of our conversation right now. If you agree, we three can work together with you to eliminate them."

"You serve the Imperial Household, and my father will not allow you to live."

"So I say, life or death, it makes no difference."

"." Xu Yuan.

A brief silence passed, and Xu Yuan shook his head, laughing softly:

"To pave the way for that demon-child, you two truly would sacrifice your lives—does that count as a natural instinct of life itself?"

"."

Mu Xingyi glanced sideways toward the inn in the northern city, where they had once briefly stayed, his tone calm:

"If Xu brother weren't so extraordinary, perhaps we could still meet often, as we did that day, sharing wine and talking under the moonlight."

"Enough."

Xu Yuan cut him off, speaking softly with a gentle smile:

"At the time, I did indeed admire your temperament, but I remember our friendship lasted no more than half a month—does playing at mutual understanding go a little too far?"

"You won't win."

"Perhaps not."

"It seems Master Xu has made up his mind."

"A half-day celebration isn't a good habit, especially since we haven't even officially begun."

Speaking, Xu Yuan's eyes flashed with murderous intent:

"And furthermore, even if your damned child doesn't come to find me, when my cultivation reaches a certain level, I will go seek him myself."

"."

Silence.

In the stillness of their gaze, Mu Xingyi's calm tone carried a faint trace of regret:

"Indeed, it's always thus."

And as the soft whisper faded away, Mu Xingyi slowly closed his fierce, reptilian eyes. Above the sky, a cataclysm erupted.

"Crack—!"

A sharp, metallic clash echoed through the heavens. A colossal insect's claw-blade, without warning, pierced the city's protective sky-mantle from the outside. The blade's tip plunged downward at blinding speed, like a giant celestial sword driven into the earth of the fortress, stirring a storm of dust and smoke.

Yet this was only the beginning.

The massive claw began to glide across the sky-mantle, tearing open a fissure a hundred zhang wide. Sunlight and swarms of insects surged through the breach, cascading down from the sky, their sharp, insectoid cries spreading like wildfire into the city's heart.

Xu Yuan had just been about to tease his companion—how far inferior his destructive power was compared to the White Emperor—but upon fixing his gaze upon the man before him, Mu Xingyi had already slowly opened his eyes. The aura radiating from his body suddenly deepened, becoming immeasurable.

Oh?

Could a Bug Saint transfer his true form into a spell projection?

The astonishment still shimmering in Xu Yuan's eyes, a fine crack began to spread across Mu Xingyi's skin. From within, a slender whip-blade emerged.

In a time nearly still, the whip-blade suddenly slashed toward Xu Yuan.

From top to bottom, the cut instantly spread across the ground for dozens of paces, slicing through the makeshift huts along the way, splitting them cleanly in half. The surge of air from the strike only began to ripple outward a moment later, as if the world had been caught in a breath held too long.

The gust lifted the fabric of his garments. Mu Xingyi stared at the handsome man still standing before him, his dense eyes flickering with something strange.

Xu Yuan looked back at him, his voice tinged with resignation:

"Did you strike so quickly the moment the conversation collapsed?"

Mu Xingyi fixed his gaze on the man before him:

"It's impossible for you to react with your level of cultivation."

Xu Yuan shrugged, eyes narrowing into a smile:

"It's said that if a strike moves fast enough, a person may not even realize they've already died. Perhaps I'm already dead now."

"."

Mu Xingyi said nothing.

The insect-being differed from other creatures.

It lacked the intent-soul, the tool used to scan the surroundings.

Yet in compensation,

the insect’s compound eyes granted it dynamic vision far surpassing that of ordinary humans of the same level.

At the very instant the whip-blade made contact, Mu Xingyi saw, with a clarity that seemed to cleanse his vision, the figure of Xu Xuan flicker—just barely avoiding the slash.

Xu Yuan, seeing this, sighed softly:

"Truth be told, I'm quite envious of you. You don't have to do anything at all—just consume your own father, and you instantly gain the power of a saint."

Before the words had fully settled, the whip-blade hidden beneath Mu Xingyi’s skin surged forth again, carving a dozen sudden, jagged wounds across Xu Yuan’s feet, severing the southeastern region of Huanglong City into two starkly distinct halves!

Yet strangely,

Xu Changtian, aside from his garments stained with dust, stood before him unharmed.

With every strike that approached, his form flickered momentarily.

Xu Yuan glanced at the wreckage strewn behind him, sensing the now half-empty dantian within his body, and sighed:

"Originally, I had hoped to wait for my younger sister to appear. But since Xinyi has so generously offered this gift, I shall naturally reciprocate—this, as a host's courtesy."

"It seems you indeed have set a trap here. Yet, are you certain your trap is effective against me—"

Before the words fully formed, Mu Xinyi's brows suddenly arched. He suddenly realized his body had been seized by some unseen force.

The next instant,

countless semi-transparent, enigmatic seals flickered to life from the darkness of the market, gently interlocking, forming a seamless network, and finally coalescing into a spherical light shield that enveloped the entire marketplace!

His dense array of eyes rolled rapidly, scanning the surroundings. Though he still could not pinpoint the source of the spell, a flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind.

This was a pre-arranged incantation.

The caster should merely transcend the mortal realm, left or right.

Breaking this seal of symbols may not be difficult, but it requires time.

With the Sacred Source shielding him, these symbols will wound him.

Choosing to shed his shell and escape would spare him injury, yet it would drain a vast amount of Sacred Source.

As chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, a fleeting hesitation sparked another upheaval in the surrounding chaos!

The floating seal of script suddenly contracted, like golden chains snaking and clinging to his body, locking his essence tightly within this prison of script.

At that very moment, Mu Xingyi, with his rapid scanning of his compound eyes, spotted movement atop the towering western city wall.

A broad, robust man hovered in midair.

He was gazing down at him from above.

And behind him,

It is hundreds of city-defense heavy crossbows, already drawn and ready to fire!