Chapter 168: The Attack of Lightning

　　Only then did Luo Yunshang notice her unusual behavior, and she quickly pulled herself away. Her face blushed as she said angrily, “If you don’t tell me when we get back, I’ll definitely teach you a lesson! Also, don’t forget you still owe me a Guangling Melody!”

　　When he saw her shy look, Yunxiao knew things were going to be troublesome. He gave a wry smile. “I think it is better to let Gu Feiyang play it for you in the future.”

　　That took Luo Yunshang aback. Her eyes went wide, her face blank as she murmured, “Would… would he play for me?”

　　Somewhat speechless, Yunxiao cleared his throat and said, “I don’t know, but I will tell him your request…”

　　“Thank you, Yunxiao!” Luo Yunshang was overjoyed, and she said with a grateful look on her face.

　　Yunxiao was stressed out. He waved a hand hurriedly and said, “Teacher Yunshang, you’d better return to your chariot and get familiar with the array.”

　　Luo Yunshang smiled. It seemed that she had returned to normal. “He taught you this Twelve Purple Lightning Array, didn’t he? It is actually one of the three ultimate arrays of Shenxiao Temple. Although I’ve not used it before, the whole array is in my head. Since we are just going to attract a low-level lightning, there will be no problem for me. Do you plan to attack the Xingyang family with lightning?”

　　A serious look came over Yunxiao’s face as he nodded and said, “Yes. According to my estimation, by combining the strength of the twelve of us, we can at least attract one of the Five Elements Divine Lightning, which is more than enough to make them suffer.”

　　Luo Yunshang pondered a moment and said, “We need to form the array over their mansion, but how are we going to prevent them from discovering us? They can easily stop us from completing the array with just a two-stars Martial Grandmaster.”

　　Yunxiao smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve prepared for that.”

　　They discussed the details of the array for a while more before Luo Yunshang returned to her chariot happily. The question that had troubled her for over ten years had finally been answered. She had never felt so relaxed before, and she even had a vague feeling that she was about to make a breakthrough.

　　After she had left, Yunxiao thought for a moment while frowning. At length, he sighed and felt stressed out.

　　Very soon, twelve chariots arrived outside the city of Shangyang.

　　Shangyang was the capital of the Firecrow Empire, the most prosperous city within ten thousand miles. It was dozens of times the size of Tianshui’s capital, with a population of about one hundred million.

　　The chariots stopped in the sky outside the city. They did not dare to enter rashly; there were a few powerful divine senses in the city that even Yunxiao was scared of.

　　“We need to think of a way. If we fly straight into the city, we will surely attract the attention of those old monsters from the Temple of Revered Elders,” Xiao Qingwang said through a voice transmission. “The Firecrow Empire’s Temple of Revered Elders is where the imperial family keeps their experts. As far as I know there are more than thirty of them, and the strength of a Martial King is the minimum requirement to join the Temple.”

　　When he had just become a Martial King, he had received an invitation from the Temple of Revered Elders, but he rejected it politely.

　　The Temple of Revered Elders was under the direct command of the imperial family and did not take orders from anyone. Apart from serving the imperial family, its members were also in charge of the imperial city’s safety. No one could order them, and as long as the imperial city was not under threat and the emperor of Firecrow did not give them orders, they would not strike even if the four major families were wiped out.

　　Looking at the city ahead, Yunxiao began to perform incantation gestures with both hands. Soon, the arrays carved on the twelve chariots began to emanate beams of white light while the chariots gradually turned transparent. Before very long, they completely disappeared from the sky.

　　“We’re ready. Let’s go! Although we still can’t escape the divine sense of some experts, this at least states clearly that we are not here to cause trouble openly.”

　　It was just a stealth mystic art, which could not last for too long and could not deceive everyone.

　　As soon as the chariots entered Shangyang’s airspace, several strong divine senses rushed over from various places in the imperial city, targeting them in an instant.

　　Yunxiao’s face flickered slightly. These divine senses were very strong, and some were not weaker than his. But fortunately, they did not come with obvious hostility; they were just curious, and a few of them disappeared after observing for a moment. In the end, only two divine senses still followed them, as if to monitor them.

　　“Hmph! Look all you like!” Yunxiao sneered. Paying no more heed to the two divine senses, he drove the chariot directly over the Xingyang family. A cold smile came over his face as he took out the small box containing the Outworld Dark Jade from his ring. “With this thing as the array’s eye, there is nothing Supreme Palace can do to clear its name.”

　　Shangyang occupied a vast land, but even the Xingyang family, which had hundreds of years of history, could only purchase a not so large property at the edge of the capital. Although it was also an aristocratic family, it still could not compare with those super families situated in the central region of the imperial city.

　　In the common hall of the Xingyang family…

　　The current head of the family, Xingyang Yi, was pacing back and forth. Over the last few days, he had been feeling restless when meditating. With his current cultivation base, he would not feel things for no reason.

　　“Has Xingyang Kun not returned from Yanwu yet?” He vaguely had a bad feeling.

　　Xingyang Cheng, the chief steward of the family, frowned and said, “No, my lord. Elder Kun has not returned yet.”

　　A worried look came into Xingyang Yi’s eyes. “He should be back by now. Although he is just a one-star Martial Grandmaster, he is still a genuine Martial Grandmaster. Moreover, he has two intrinsic mystic artifacts. Even if he failed the task, he should be able to come back safely. Yanwu is just a small city of Tianshui. There is no way it can trap him.”

　　The chief steward did not understand either. “Could it be that Elder Kun suddenly had an urgent matter to attend somewhere else?”

　　“Hmph! With the heir of the family dead now, how could he not know what is more important? But then…it is good that Xingyang Jie had died! It will be better if the rest are all dead as well, so that my grandson can have the opportunity to be the heir.”

　　A grim sneer appeared on Xingyang Yi’s face. Xingyang Jie was not his descendant, but one from the branch who was made the heir because his grandson was too useless.

　　Xingyang Cheng dared not to say anything about that, and he quickly changed the topic. “Even so, Xingyang Jie is the Grand Elder’s direct descendant, and if this were to be learned by him…”

　　“It is precisely the reason why I sent Xingyang Kun to find out the truth and bring the murderer back to the Grand Elder!” Xingyang Yi said gloomily, “I had sent someone to bring a letter to Jutian Sect as soon as I was informed of what happened. The reply said the Grand Elder is in secluded meditation, and no one knows when he will come out. We need to catch the murderer as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the Grand Elder comes out and learns that his direct descendant was murdered, even I won’t be able to withstand his wrath!”

　　Frowning, Xingyang Cheng asked, “Should we send another person to Yanwu?”

　　The family head paced a few steps while pondering, then said in a cold voice, “I remember Feiche from the Cheng family was murdered together with Xingyang Jie. Although he was not someone important in his family, he was still from the Cheng family. The Xingyang family cannot be the only one who is looking for the murderer. Inform the Cheng family and find out their response.”

　　“Yes!” Xingyang Cheng’s face lit up. “If the Cheng family also sends someone over, perhaps Tianshui will catch and bring the murderer to us.”

　　“Hmph! I really want to see who is this rampant guy bold enough to kill the heir of the Xingyang family!” Suddenly, he frowned and asked, “Xingyang Ming went to attend the Supreme Palace’s celebration banquet. Has he not returned yet either?”

　　Xingyang Cheng answered, “No, I haven’t seen him. He was supposed to have returned yesterday.”

　　“This…”

　　Xingyang Yi suddenly felt frustrated, and an uneasiness crept into his heart. He had a vague feeling that there was some kind of connection between these two matters, which stirred his mind, but he just could not link them up. As a result, the restlessness in him grew stronger.

　　“Who goes there?” Suddenly he threw his head back, and his gaze seemed to have penetrated the ceiling and looked at the sky.

　　RUMBLE!

　　Right at that moment, a great force smote the yard in the mansion and spread out abruptly while a sense of fear rose in Xingyang Yi’s heart. The force not only contained a violent aura, but also a chill that went deep to the bone.

　　He was a four-stars Martial Grandmaster, and yet he still had that feeling. He could not imagine what others would feel in the face of such power.

　　“Who are you? How dare you attack the Xingyang family!” Xingyang Yi roared as he rushed out of the hall. When he got outside, he saw a large, deep pit in the yard, with tiny electric arcs crackling around it, and plumes of cold air drifting out and spreading across the mansion.

　　“Extreme cold energy! This is the Supreme Palace’s extreme cold energy!” He sucked in a cold breath and could not believe what he saw. In the entire Firecrow Empire, only the energy cultivated by the Supreme Palace could have such an extreme chill. Moreover, the energy in front of him was so pure that even Ma Tianhe might not be able to achieve. ‘What is going on? Could something have happened to Xingyang Ming?’

　　Xingyang Yi looked up in shock and fury, but the sky was clear, without even a cloud, let alone a figure.

　　“Where are you? Show yourself now! Why do you want to hide like some thieves?” He flew into a rage and bellowed. The whole Xingyang family was woken up by the rumble just now, and people began to run out, searching for the enemy.

　　Suddenly, electric arcs emerged in the sky again. They appeared out of thin air, their color like the coldest ice. They gradually gathered over the mansion, their numbers growing rapidly.

　　Soon, electric arcs completely enveloped the sky over the mansion, turning it into an icy cold, pale-blue pool of lightning, with numerous blue lightning bolts flashing in it.

　　Meanwhile, the voice of a kid rang out of a room, sounding very excited, “Mummy, look! The sky is so beautiful!”

　　Almost all the people in the mansion had come out after hearing the explosion. They stared at the sky in shock and fury, with a look of disbelief on their faces.

　　Who was it?

　　Who dared to provoke the Xingyang family?

　　No, this was no longer a provocation!

　　This was an attack!