Chapter 171: A Work of Art

　　Zhu Jin looked at the direction where Yunxiao’s chariot had disappeared into, which led to the Supreme Palace.

　　“Are they really from Supreme Palace?” While frowning, he thought for a moment and then murmured to himself, “The energy leaking from that boy just now was indeed the type of extreme cold, and so did the lightning they attracted. Moreover, among the newly established sects over recent years, only the Supreme Palace has such strength. But…”

　　He pondered again, but he could not find an answer. “Why does Supreme Palace want to start a feud with the Xingyang family?”

　　“Hehe! Old Freak Zhu, I can see you have just cheated something good from those juniors!” Suddenly, a voice came through the void.

　　Zhu Jin’s face flickered, and he snorted angrily and said, “This is none of your business, Ao Dijia! Get the hell out of here!”

　　“Hehe! That lightning-attracting array is at least a sixth-tier treasure, but you only paid three hundred thousand superior-grade Primordial Stones to get it. Tsk, tsk, where can I find such a good deal?” Ao Dijia continued to mock.

　　“Go away!” Zhu Jin held up a middle finger and snapped, “If you utter any more nonsense, I’ll come over and pluck your tongue now!”

　　“What? Can’t I…” Ao Dijia’s voice halted abruptly.

　　That gave Zhu Jin a pause, and he thought, ‘Have I really scared that old freak? How is this possible?’

　　Just as he was puzzled, a sheet of white light suddenly broke out in the distance sky over the capital, immediately followed by a blue light that devoured everything, almost enveloping the whole Shangyang. And that direction was where the Xingyang family was situated.

　　“That is…” Zhu Jin sucked in a cold breath. The huge blue light brought him an extremely cold chill. What kind of power could spread so far and even make him, a Martial Emperor, palpitate?

　　Whoosh!

　　His face turned serious as he flew in that direction immediately.

　　With Zhu Jin’s speed, it took him less than a breath to travel such a short distance. Meanwhile, he felt a few other powerful auras flying over at great speed as well, one of whom was Ao Dijia, while the rest were old freaks like him who rarely showed up in public. Although they were all in the capital, they did not see each other often.

　　Several figures reached over the Xingyang family almost at the same time. Due to their high speed, they almost could not stop themselves and had to glide a dozen meters in the air before coming to a complete stop. In the next instant, what they saw stunned them completely; their faces were blank and their eyes widened in shock.

　　All the buildings of the Xingyang family were gone, and there was a huge ice sculpture standing tall in front of them right at the site where the mansion once stood.

　　What terrified these old freaks who stood at the pinnacle of the Firecrow Empire was that all the people of the Xingyang family were frozen inside the ice sculpture: The expression on each face was lifelike, mostly afraid and aghast. The few elders of the family in the air were locked in postures of unleashing some powerful attacks, with anger and fear in their eyes that shocked anyone who looked at them!

　　All the people of the Xingyang family were frozen, including even their family head—Xingyang Yi!

　　Although each of them looked lifelike, it was impossible that they could still be alive under the extreme cold energy. In other words, all the members of the Xingyang family, as long as they were in the mansion, were dead. Even the fowl and livestock they kept were frozen in the same posture as the moment they died.

　　It was absolutely a work of art that these old freaks had never seen before. In fact, its beauty was suffocating!

　　But, none of them had the mood to admire it. They only felt chills in their hearts, which could not be blocked even with their powerful Primordial Qi, and their faces had turned livid. For a moment, they were so shocked that they did not know what to do next.

　　In a flash, in just a flash, an aristocratic family that had stood for centuries in the Firecrow Empire, was completely wiped out, turning into a work of art.

　　“What…What the hell is going on here!” One of the old freaks could not bear it anymore, so he swallowed hard and asked.

　　Ao Dijia’s face was livid as he said in a deep voice, “This cold air is extremely evil resulting from some sort of abnormal detonation. In Firecrow Empire, the people who are experts in such energy…”

　　“Supreme Palace!” Zhu Jin blurted out.

　　Staring at him, Ao Dijia snorted coldly and said, “Old Freak Zhu, you saw those people just now, so you are the most suitable person to tell us more about this.”

　　All eyes turned to Zhu Jin immediately, which made him very uncomfortable. While fuming, he said, “What do you mean, Old Freak Ao? Are you suspecting that I am related to those people?”

　　Ao Dijia folded his arms over his chest and sneered, “Don’t be so nervous! I’m not interested in exposing your nasty business. It’s just that what happened to the Xingyang family is a serious matter. Who among us here dares to say he can withstand the power of this explosion? A power that can threaten even Martial Emperors…hehe…”

　　Everyone was shocked, and there was a flicker of enthusiasm flashing through their eyes. If such power was obtained by any sect, its strength would definitely experience a qualitative leap!

　　One of them said in a cold voice, “Zhu Jin, are those people really from Supreme Palace?”

　　Zhu Jin seemed afraid of this person, as he slightly released his Primordial Qi to defend against the menacing aura emanating from the latter. “It is just one of my speculations. Apart from the Supreme Palace, who in Firecrow Empire can cultivate such lethal cold energy?”

　　The man with a dark, unsmiling face glanced coldly at the shocking work of art, his chest heaving with excitement. Then, he snorted coldly and said, “That Supreme Palace is nothing, but it seems to have some kind of connection with a super sect in the north. What I fear is that after we hit the hare, we will attract the wolves!”

　　Ao Dijia’s face was flickering as well. “There are already many powers in the Heavenly Martial Realm eyeing up the resources held by the three empires in the south. Do you think this is their work?” he said worriedly. “As far as I know, the Supreme Palace doesn’t have much contact with the Xingyang family, so why would it want to wipe out the whole family?”

　　“Hmph! With the iron rule announced by the Divine City of the Holy Realm, who in the other three regions dares to reach their hands into the south!” Zhu Jin sneered disdainfully. “At most, they would do it for a personal feud. And, even if we give them the key of Mount Meru, do they dare to take it?”

　　Ao Dijia gave him a scornful look and scolded, “You know nothing! Yes, the Divine City of the Holy Realm had announced the rule, but so what? Many superpowers do not listen to them. Many years ago, after Gu Feiyang slaughtered everything within eight thousand miles in the East Sea, the sovereign of the Four Seas—the Bo family—had besieged the Holy Realm with hundreds of Nine Heavens experts from the sea clan, demanding the Holy Realm to hand him over. But, those fellows in the Divine City simply activated an array and hid behind the doors, not even daring to say a word!”

　　Zhu Jin flew into a rage. “Old codger Ao, you mean to pick on me, don’t you? The Martial Sovereign Vanquisher, Gu Feiyang, and the sovereign of the Four Seas—the Bo family—who are those people? They are all existences who can annihilate the various powers in the south with just a finger! Damn you! Why don’t you mention Martial Sovereign Tyrant, Ao Changkong, who has an indestructible body? Or the three Saints of the Divine City? Fu*k!”

　　Ao Dijia said calmly in a cold voice, “Hmph! Can the Holy Realm hold down the other superpowers like the Shenxiao Temple, Redmoon City, Beiming Dark Palace, or Long family of Skyridge?” When he saw Zhu Jin about to scold him again, he quickly turned and said, “Tell us what you think, Xin Pi. Firecrow Empire belongs to your family.”

　　Xin Pi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s not make wild guesses. The first thing we need to do is to find out who did this. Zhu Jin, since you’ve seen them before, you will find out who is behind them.” He slapped his forehead and said, “This is going to be troublesome. It looks like I need to go to Jutian Sect. But, how am I going to tell Xingyang Huo about this?”

　　“At the beginning, you all just wait for the mayhem to ensue, as if it is not your business,” Zhu Jin sneered. “Look what has happened now? His whole family is gone! I’m sure Xingyang Huo will go crazy this time. None of you will have a good time when he goes berserk!”

　　Xin Pi said angrily, “Are you not bashful while saying that? As the Grand Elder of the Temple of Revered Elders, you did not do your duty of keeping the empire safe! Look at the extreme cold energy down there, it is still spreading out in all directions! Soon, the area several miles around the Xingyang family will be affected and become inhabitable. If this were to continue, the whole Shangyang will be finished!”

　　Zhu Jin shook his head and said, “You’re exaggerating! We just need to seal these extreme cold energies by laying down an array together. How could I know they would cause such a big mess, when the strongest people among them were just one-star Martial Grandmasters?”

　　“One-star Martial Grandmasters? Could the Supreme Palace really be behind this?” Xin Pi murmured to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief. Then, he sighed helplessly and said, “Let’s put that aside for now and seal up the place together first. Otherwise, the capital is really finished.”

　　Under his arrangement, the few people spread out and surrounded the giant ice sculpture. Each of them emanated extremely a strong Primordial Qi, forming a circle around the ice sculpture. At that moment, Xin Pi locked his hands in an incantation gesture and intoned something under his breath. A moment later, a huge seal flew out of his hands, hovering over the sculpture, and then turned into a sphere and spread out. Meanwhile, an ancient-looking character of ‘seal’ appeared in the center of the sphere, glowing with a golden light as it fell down gradually.

　　Everyone quickly poured Primordial Qi into the seal, causing it to burst into a golden light before fading away in the air.

　　“It’s done. There will be no problem here for the time being. You may go back, and from now on, watch out for any suspicious people entering Shangyang.” When he had finished, Xin Pi disappeared from the sky.

　　The people here were all supreme figures of the various aristocratic families. They shook their heads and left, but at the same time, each of them was palpitating. An aristocratic family with hundreds of years of history was wiped out just like that. It was so unexpected and ridiculous! They all felt sad for the misfortune of the Xingyang family.

　　When Zhu Jin saw Ao Dijia staring at him with a strange smile, he snorted angrily as he turned and flew away.

　　Soon, the incident of the Xingyang family was learned by everyone in the capital. Many people even purposely came to have a look and were stunned by the huge ice sculpture. There was a restrictive spell jointly laid by Xin Pi and the others about ten meters away from the sculpture, which prevented anyone from getting closer.

　　As it was too crowded, many people were trampled to death. Seeing that, the imperial family quickly sent the imperial guards to lock down the area, and only then did the crowd leave. But, all kinds of rumors had already spread throughout the whole Shangyang, most of which said that the Xingyang family was wiped out by Heaven with lightning because they had committed too many evils.