What the hell?
Su Chen didn't understand, but he couldn't open his mouth even if he wanted to. He could only listen to the empress.
"Since you've obtained the feather, you must've met Jin Fengxian and learned something about me from her. Let me ask you now, is Jin Fengxian dead?"
With that, she waved a hand and lifted part of the seal on Su Chen, allowing him to speak again.
"Jin Fengxian died in a tribulation and is no more."
Though she'd expected this outcome, her expression still wavered when she heard Su Chen's words.
"She's dead in the end. The will of the heavens cannot be defied. Perhaps this is my fate."
Su Chen suddenly asked, "Jin Fengxian said you're from the world of immortals. So … the will of the heavens doesn't tolerate those from the world of immortals?"
The empress strolled to the bench, turned, and sat down.
"You know a lot, but that's not something you should be concerned about. What you need to do now is hand over the feather."
Su Chen fell silent for a moment and said, "I can give you the Nine Heavens Sacred Phoenix Feather, but Jin Fengxian entrusted it to me. If I were to give it to you for no reason, wouldn't I be letting Jin Fengxian down?"
"If you want to talk terms, just say it. There's no need to beat around the bush."
This Heavenspan Empress was a straightforward person.
Since that was the case, Su Chen cut to the chase. "I want you to kill ten people for me."
"Name them."
The empress was even more direct. Killing a few people was a piece of cake for her.
"The first is Celestial Venerate Flame from the Fire Worship Sect. I haven't thought of the others yet."
She huffed softly. "You want me to be your hired thug in the long run?
You're such a greedy kid. Fine, I'll agree.
"The second condition is that you promise you won't hurt me."
"Alright. I swear on my soul that I won't hurt a hair on your head as long as I get the feather."
"The third condition …"
Su Chen was just about to say something when the Heavenspan Empress' expression turned frosty. "Are you trying to push your luck?"
"Cough cough … That's all. The Nine Heavens Sacred Phoenix Feather is in my Sea of Consciousness. You can take it yourself." Su Chen said with a hollow laugh.
As soon as he finished speaking, a natural hand reached out and grabbed the Ninth Heaven Sacred Phoenix Feather from Su Chen's Sea of Consciousness. The action was swift and clean. Su Chen's Sea of Consciousness did not even have any fluctuations. He did not feel that it had been invaded.
The methods of the Great Emperors were amazing.
Su Chen completely lost his temper.
Even if the Sky-reaching Empress did not agree to his conditions, it would be a piece of cake for her to take away the Nine Heavens Sacred Phoenix Feather.
She was already giving him enough face by calmly listening to his conditions.
With the Ninth Heaven Sacred Phoenix Feather in her hand, Tongtian Empress couldn't help but be overjoyed.
This was something she had dreamed of. Today, she finally got it.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped and turned to Su Chen. "When we met at the River Styx, you and I were entangled by karma. I can't understand the mystery of this place. I gave you a Ninth Heaven Sacred Phoenix Feather. Today, you returned it to me. However, the karma between us has not disappeared. Instead, it has increased. Perhaps, we will meet again in the future."
With that, the Sky-reaching Empress left.
In an instant, the pressure on Su Chen's body dissipated quickly. He regained his ability to move.
Cold sweat instantly soaked Su Chen's body.
The Sky-reaching Empress still remembered what happened at the River Styx.
Su Chen did not mention it before because he was afraid of causing a misunderstanding. Moreover, for a Great Emperor, this should be a trivial matter that should not be remembered by the Sky-reaching Empress. When the Sky-reaching Empress saw him, she did not say anything, so Su Chen thought she had forgotten about it.
He did not expect her to remember it so clearly.
"Karma …"
It was indeed mysterious to the extreme.
When he left the small building, Ma Yuanhao was waiting outside.
"Young benefactor, if you have any other orders, please tell me. I will try my best to fulfill them."
Su Chen shook his head. "I have collected 101 Ginseng Fruits from your sect. That's enough. I will take my leave now."
"In that case, I will go to the Immortal Dawn Sect with you. The Empress has asked me to eliminate the Heavenly Venerable Flame."
Eh, was there a subcontract for this matter?
Alright, as long as the result was the same. Moreover, if the Sky-reaching Empress dealt with the Heavenly Venerable Flame personally, it would be like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken. Ma Yuanhao alone was enough.
"Then, I will have to trouble Sect Leader Ma to come with me."
"It's no trouble. I have long wanted to go out and exercise my muscles," Ma Yuanhao said with a smile.
With Ma Yuanhao's help, Su Chen was confident that he could go against the Fire Worship Sect. Even if the Dragon Cave did not have any reinforcements, they would be invincible.
…
"Arrogant!"
The Heavenly Venerable Flame was furious when he found out that the Immortal Dawn Sect had captured all the envoys sent by the Fire Worship Sect and announced that they would be publicly executed.
If it was the Heavenly Dipper Sect, the Clear Sky Sect, or the Zhen Yuan Sect, it would be fine. However, who was the Immortal Dawn Sect?
How dare a small sect that was ranked at the bottom of the 72 Prefectures challenge the Fire Worship Sect?
The Heavenly Venerable Flame was currently in a state of rage because of the theft of the treasure vault. The Immortal Dawn Sect's actions were like adding oil to the fire.
In the Fire Worship Shrine, the elders and higher-ups of the Fire Worship Sect kept quiet out of fear. They did not dare to make a sound.
Duan Rou stood up and said, "Sect Leader, it is impossible for the Immortal Dawn Sect to not know their own weight. However, they suddenly became tough. In my opinion, there must be a problem."
The Heavenly Venerable Flame frowned. "Do you mean that the Immortal Dawn Sect has something to do with the theft of the Fire Worship Sect's treasure vault?
I don't think they have such means. The Fire Worship Sect's treasure vault is tightly guarded. It is not easy for outsiders to break in. The theft of the treasure vault must be the result of your good disciple working with the outsiders. "
When Duan Rou heard this, she immediately revealed a terrified expression. She quickly knelt down and said, "Duan Rou has not taught her disciple well. Sect Leader, please punish me."
The Heavenly Venerable Flame waved his hand. "It was my idea to elect Zhou Ning Yun as the Saintess. However, I did not expect that the more talented she is, the more difficult it is to tame her. This led to such a big disaster. If anyone is to blame, it is my fault as the Sect Leader."
He continued to say, "However, what my beloved concubine said is not without reason. The Immortal Dawn Sect has changed their attitude of swallowing their anger in the past and is trying their best to stop the Fire Worship Sect's messenger from investigating. They are definitely harboring evil intentions. Regardless of whether they have anything to do with the theft of the treasure vault, we can't let the Immortal Dawn Sect off easily.
"Wang Chan, Xu Liang, both of you come forward to receive your orders."
The two elders of the Fire Worship Sect immediately knelt down. Both of their strengths were at the Intermediate Stage of the Great Heaven Realm.
"I order both of you to lead 100,000 disciples to the south to rescue the Fire Worship Sect's envoys. If you encounter any obstruction, kill them without mercy."
"Yes, Sect Leader."