Chapter 461 — Cloud and Rain at a Turn of the Palm

"Bastard!

" Yu Ruyi had scarcely died when the whole Liu household was thrown into uproar. One black coffin after another burst open with a bang, bang, bang, and mighty figures shot skyward from within!

Some coffins merely opened without anyone emerging, yet from them came waves of dreadful pulsation, sheets of divine light churning and brewing inside; though the powers within never showed themselves, the effect was truly awe-inspiring. As one of the ten great clans of the Western Lands, the Liu family kept a low profile, but their strength was truly formidable. This God-Burial Valley was the Liu family's holy ground; that Shen Mu had killed Yu Ruyi here was in itself a violation of their most sacred taboo, and since the dead was a powerhouse of the True Heaven Palace, the Liu family's fury was inevitable. Shua, shua, shua—figures descended all around Shen Mu.

At once a bleak, sinister wind rose and clouds of gloom gathered in waves. The figures stood within that murk, shadowy and indistinct, their faces unreadable; one could not tell whether they were human or ghost.

They were about to tear apart the arrogant wretch who had broken the Liu family's rules when they suddenly caught sight of the Azure Profound Water Dragon Pearl in Xiong Qi'er's hand. They halted in alarm, not daring to advance. "Everyone, stop!

" Liu Ruyin cried, beside herself with fury.

"No one is to lift a hand! " She turned to look at Shen Mu, and there he stood as though nothing had happened, stuffing a great eye of jade into his Taotie Pouch. Her daughter, meanwhile, was clapping and cheering, urging Shen Mu to do it again.

Liu Ruyin's head throbbed as though it would split. She glanced at Yu Ruyi's corpse beside her, and her headache worsened. Her original intention had been merely to let Shen Mu and Yu Ruyi meet—just to meet.

She did not care whether the two could come to terms; if they insisted on fighting, then at least they must not fight in the Liu household.

The only one she had needed to guard against was Yu Ruyi: so long as Yu Ruyi did not kill Shen Mu within the Liu household, all would be well.

As for Shen Mu, this big boy was merely a divine-power cultivator of the Six Harmonies realm; there was no need to take him seriously. But who could have guessed that it was precisely this notion that went wrong!

Yu Ruyi had barely shown her face before that villain Shen cut her down, and the villain had the nerve to feign innocence—infuriating!

Killing Yu Ruyi might have been manageable, but the crux was that she had been killed inside the Liu family's God-Burial Valley, and that put the Liu family in the wrong.

When the True Heaven Palace came to demand satisfaction, could the Liu family bear it? "Still, if we hand that villain Shen over to the True Heaven Palace, it will likely atone for our crime. " She blinked.

"But the Azure Profound Water Dragon Pearl is in the little princess's hands—we cannot afford to offend her. . .

" Just then a fragrant wind swept in, and several women of the True Heaven Palace arrived, drifting down lightly.

Seeing Yu Ruyi's corpse on the ground, they flew into a rage and demanded sharply, "Liu Ruyin, what is the meaning of this? " Liu Ruyin's head hurt even more.

"This was the work of Sect Master Shen, who has come from the Central Lands. It has nothing to do with my Liu family.

.

.

" One of the women said sternly, "Nothing to do with your Liu family? Liu Ruyin, that is easy enough for you to say, but the one dead is an elder of our True Heaven Palace.

Your Liu family need not think you can wash your hands of this! " Another woman stepped forward, her voice and expression both harsh. "Patriarch Liu, if your Liu family wishes to preserve itself, then seize that man Shen at once and hand him over to the True Heaven Palace for judgment.

The Palace Master may, out of old sentiment, not deal too harshly with you. Otherwise, I fear the whole Liu family, high and low, will be exterminated, its very name struck from the rolls!

" Liu Ruyin ground her teeth—when suddenly Shen Mu's voice came, curious: "Sister Ruyin, didn't you say the visitor from the True Heaven Palace was Yu Ruyi? I thought there was only Sister Yu Ruyi. So who might these sisters be?

" Liu Ruyin shot him a venomous glare and said coldly, "I did say that the visitor from the True Heaven Palace was named Yu Ruyi, but I never said she was the only one. I also told you from the start that several senior sisters had come from the True Heaven Palace—did I not? " Shen Mu's face cleared. He laughed. "That was rash of me.

I thought it would be enough to kill just one sister. " Liu Ruyin's fury blazed. "Sect Master Shen, you killed an elder of the True Heaven Palace and sought to sow discord between my Liu family and the True Heaven Palace. And now you ask me how we are to proceed?

" Shen Mu rose and smiled. "Sister Ruyin, I have just come from the He family. Sister Yiyi is preparing to summon the great clans to deliberate on a great matter: to overthrow this Palace Master of the True Heaven Palace who climbed to the throne only through rebellion and chaos. The Palace Master governs against the way of heaven, and both heaven and men are resentful.

The Yu family grows ever more powerful, and your Liu family is but fish on the Yu family's chopping block. The arrival of Yu Ruyi and these sisters is enough to make the whole Liu family bow and scrape.

The Yu family slaughtered the Xiong family until only an orphan and a widow remained—does that not worry you? " Liu Ruyin felt a chill of alarm; there was truth in every word Shen Mu spoke. With Yu Ruyi dead in the Liu household, the True Heaven Palace would certainly not let the matter rest.

The Liu family would inevitably be dragged in; even if they did not die, they would be flayed of a layer of skin, forced to pay tribute of untold treasures to the True Heaven Palace. And the Liu family's greatest treasures were their corpses. Only, this villain Shen clearly had no good intentions; he meant to drag the Liu family into the water and make them stand together against the True Heaven Palace. Yet his talk of He Yiyi summoning the great clans to deliberate—that did stir her. The Yu family was cold and faithless. Last time they had dealt with the Xiong family too ruthlessly, all but wiping them out. Though the Xiong family had long occupied the Palace Master's seat and drawn the covetous eyes of the other clans, they had at least acted with a measure of fairness. The Yu family was different.

The Xiong family numbered a million souls, young and old, a power of immense magnitude—and the Yu family had actually gone in for the kill, cutting the roots and burning the weeds, slaughtering all but Xiong Xiyu and her daughter, who fled the Western Lands. Everyone else had been annihilated. That was more than mere ruthlessness. "If we could use this chance to overthrow the Yu family.

.

. " Liu Ruyin looked at Shen Mu, wavering.

The other Liu family experts were filled with rage, yet no small number of them were pondering Shen Mu's proposal. Shen Mu smiled.

"Sister Ruyin, the Xiong family is left with only an orphan and a widow. If Xiong Xiyu ascends the Palace Master's seat again, how could mother and daughter alone govern the Western Lands?

They would have to borrow the strength of great clans like yours. With the Yu family holding the True Heaven Palace, you cannot insert the least bit of your own power.

But the day the Xiong family takes back the True Heaven Palace will be the day your great clans take your seats within it. " At last Liu Ruyin made up her mind. She looked at the little girl beside Shen Mu and said, "Little one, what do you think?

" The little girl laughed.

"Since Mother has already made up her mind, why ask me?

Mother should simply decide. " Shen Mu looked at this little girl beside him, who seemed about the same age as Xiong Qi'er, and his heart was full of alarm and doubt.