However, her unique charm had been marred by the cold hostility in her eyes.
The three girls pulled taut faces as soon as they saw the woman. Yun Yier mustered her courage and flung back at her, “Hu Mei, why do you care?”
“Hehe, I was talking to Lin Wuhua. Didn’t your master teach you to respect your seniors?”
Hu Mei scoffed and raised her hand to slap at Yun Yier.
A wash of purple light appeared in the air. It ripped across space, hurtling toward the girls. This attack was from a Golden Core Cultivator, and was able to annihilate anything within a few miles radius. Suddenly, the air felt heavy.
Yun Yier and Mu Hongti’s faces turned pale.
They were only Connate Cultivators and would never stand a chance against such power. They would be reduced to a pulp even with the protection of their Spirit Treasures.
“Clang!”
A metal clanking noise was heard.
Lin Wuhua extended two fingers to form a blade and hacked at the purple energy.
“Hu Mei, that’s enough. What’s between you and me has nothing to do with Yun Yier. You don’t need to harm her,” Lin Wuhua wore a frosty expression and refuted.
A cultivator in white outfit said with a cold smile, “What can you do if she kills her anyways? You’re a bunch of country girls who will pay for offending the heir of a prestigious family.”
He stood tall and firm and the white outfit complemented his handsome features. The energy floating around him suggested that he was at the Golden Core’s mid-stage, while the occasional flashes of light his body gave off was a telltale sign that he carried more than one Spirit Treasure. Judging by those facts, he could defeat most mid-stage Golden Core Cultivators.
“Just so. Lass, do you know who she is?
“She is the heir of the Hu family, the sister of Second Lord Hu. She comes from a Heavenly Lord Family, what is your life to her? Kneel and beg her to spare your life, NOW.”
“Miss Mei, I found that girl in black outfit quite to my liking. Why don’t you leave her to me after you’re done with her? I’m in need of a pet just for fun,” a few young cultivators suggested.
They were all Golden Core Cultivators and were surrounded by their Dharma Treasure’s halos. Seeing the situation had escalated, the onlookers backed a few steps to get out of those young men’s way.
Meanwhile, the three girls were being seized by embarrassment and anger.
“What’s going on?” Chen Fan asked.
He figured that those young men and women were heirs of powerful factions. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to reach the Golden Core at such a young age.
That being said, the level of their golden cores was not high: a typical problem with rich young cultivators who lacked real talent. However, Chen Fan wondered how their strife started.
“Senior Chen, we met Hu Mei as soon as we entered the Beihuang Region.
“One of her companions, a man with the last name Feng took an interest in Sister Lin. She was overtaken by jealousy and sought to teach Sister Lin a lesson. They have heard that we are heading toward the Ancient Deity Plateau, so she spread nasty lies about us, saying that we would never be able to reach the top of the plateau. Yier confronted her later and she took it as a sign of aggression,” Mu Hongti answered while speaking under her breath.
Chen Fan looked at the spiteful Hu Mei and then back at Lin Wuhua’s stone cold face. He knew what was going on. Hu Mei was jealous of the attention Lin Wuhua was getting. It must be hard for Hu Mei to stomach the fact that someone else was more attractive than her.
Chen Fan had to agree with the man in the middle of this drama. Lin Wuhua was indeed more attractive than Hu Mei.
“Whatever! I don’t care who Feng Yushan likes. I’m not that desperate! But you have embarrassed me in public, and that, I can never forgive. Kneel before me and beg for my forgiveness, or I will take your power away and send you to a whore house!”
Hu Mei put on a cold grin; poisonous intent spilled out from her wide eyes.
Her threat sent a chill down all the other cultivator’s spines.
She was vile!
Lin Wuhua was a Golden Core Cultivator and a whore house was no place for her. Such humiliation was worse than death.
“How dare you!”
Lin Wuhua scowled and was unable to hold back her anger. She pressed a hand on the blade, ready to unsheath it.
Hu Mei rolled her eyes and smirked. Meanwhile, the young cultivators around her stepped forward and unveiled their glistening Dharma Treasures.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
A few bursts of energy were shot up to the sky as the Spirit Treasures revealed themselves. Suddenly, a deep and powerful roaring filled up the firmament, sending down energy waves that terrified the onlookers.
Although those rich heirs couldn’t compete against top elite talents, they were much more powerful than average cultivators.
“Sister Lin!”
Mu Hongti’s face darkened.
Lin Wuhua had a level five Golden Core, but she couldn’t take on so many foes at once. Lin Wuhua had also noticed the danger and her body was quivering due to stress. She held the blade tighter until her fingers lost color.
“Senior Chen, please help her,” Yun Yier begged; eyes wide open with fear.
Mu Hongti also turned over to look at Chen Fan and plead with her eyes.
They had seen Chen Fan bring Zhao Juexian to heel and therefore they knew he was more powerful than Hu Mei and her entourage.
“Are you sure you want to get involved? Miss Hu Mei is from the Hu family of Xuandu. It’s a Heavenly Lord Family. She is also Hu Xiao’s favorite sister. If you don’t know who Hu Xiao is, you just need to look up at the Ancient Deity Plateau.
“Meanwhile, me and my brothers here are all heirs of Heavenly Lord Families. The tall one is Yan Wuwang. He is the ninth generation heir of the Sanshan Sect.
“Over there is Fang Yan. He is the last disciple of Perfected Cultivator Xuannu. Ah, right. You might not know who Perfected Cultivator Xuannu is, but just know that he’s ranked top fifty in the Beihuang Roll.
“Standing behind me are Shan Wenshen, Huang Weijun and An Shufeng, all their benefactors are mighty cultivators. I am Liu Xiang and am the least of your worries. But I also rank in the top thirty among my peers.
“Are you sure you want to become our enemy?”
The cultivator in white outfit gave Chen Fan a thoughtful smile.
People around them let out gasps of cold air after hearing his words.
The Sanshan Sect Master and the Perfected Cultivator Xuannu were mighty forces in the Beihuang Region. Although they were not as prestigious as those from the Heavenly Lord Families, they were every bit as powerful and were all on the Beihuang Roll.
The Beihuang Roll listed all the powerful Overlords in the Beihuang Region.
Perfected Cultivator Xuannu was at the fiftieth spot on the Beihuang Roll; his power was on par with Wang Xuanlong’s and was much more powerful than average late-stage Golden Core Cultivators.
Of all of them, the Hu family posed the biggest threat.
“Oh no. Those girls are in trouble.”
Some onlookers shook their heads in consternation.
By then, the three girls had already been shaken to the core.
They had met many cultivators who, at first, were willing to offer them aid, but later shriveled after hearing the Hu family’s name. They have learned of the Hu family’s clout in the Beihuang Region first hand.
The Hu family was a Heavenly Lord Family and other factions such as the Seven Fiend Sects or the Zhao family couldn’t compare. Would Chen Fan really help them despite the ire of such a powerful force?
Mu Hongti looked to Chen Fan and saw that he wasn’t taking action. Her heart sank to the bottom.
“Don’t waste time with them, just do it. I still need to meet my Big Brother on the plateau. He promised to introduce me to Luo Changshen.”
Hu Mei’s patience was wearing thin.
Lin Wuhua and the other three girls were as insignificant as insects in her eyes.
The other rich heirs were also feeling a thirst for blood in their mouths. Those three country girls were nothing but playthings to them.
As Shan Wenshen and Huang Weijun threw themselves at the girls, Yier shouted out, “Senior Chen!”
Even Lin Wuhua turned her head toward Chen Fan and gave Chen Fan a pleading glance. Chen Fan finally spoke up, “Can you spare them for my sake?”
The rich heirs nearly burst out laughing after hearing that.
Hu Mei shot a curious glance at Chen Fan. Her companions thought Chen Fan had gone mad. What leverage did an early-stage golden core cultivator have over those powerful heirs? Did he think he was Wang Xuanlong or Luo Changshen?
Liu Xiang grinned and then asked, “What sect or family do you belong to?”
“I am none of that.”
Chen Fan shook his head.
“Then why should we listen to you?”
Liu Xiang pulled a taut face and sent a wave of energy at Chen Fan.
He had not only reached the mid-stage Golden Core, but he had also mastered the True Energy of Ethereal Ice. Suddenly, countless white ice dragons appeared out of nowhere. They plunged toward Chen Fan, snarling.
The onlooker’s faces changed colors.
However, Chen Fan was unfazed by the danger. He shrugged and said lightly, “Maybe because my name is Chen Beixuan.”
Liu Xiang smirked, but his smile quickly curdled on his face. He stopped his art and then asked in a shaky voice, “Chen Beixuan, the Elixir Monarch?”
“That’s me.” Chen Fan nodded as a deadly silence fell over the crowd.
Everyone was floored by the revelation. And the faces of the powerful heirs turned sour.