Shen Lang released the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire simply to prove he knew Lan Mengling.
That tiny cluster of flames instantly left Dong Chengyue and her two companions utterly dumbfounded.
"Vermilion Bird Divine Fire! That’s impossible!"
Dong Chengyue’s face twisted in pure shock. She simply could not believe her eyes.
Beside her, Qin Mengxue—Lan Mengling’s direct subordinate—fell into a complete daze, entirely at a loss for words.
As for Zheng Tianfeng, whether from sheer terror or overwhelming rage, a loud GULP echoed from his throat. Unable to suppress his severe injuries or process this bizarre twist of events, he simply blacked out.
These experts from the Demon God Hall knew the truth very well. Lan Mengling was the sole survivor of the Vermilion Bird Race. It was physically impossible for anyone of another lineage to wield her clan’s Talent Ability. Yet here was some random kid conjuring the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire. Was he also from the Vermilion Bird Race? If so, his relationship with Lan Mengling had to run much deeper than mere friendship.
Noticing the bizarre expressions on the two women’s faces, Shen Lang spoke in a leisurely tone. "You don’t need to stare at me like that. I’m genuinely not from the Vermilion Bird Race. However, in this entire world, aside from Lan’Er, I’m probably the only one who can control the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.
"As for Sister Lin, I really don’t have any physical proof on hand. But she’s currently somewhere inside this Dragon Scale Divine Hall, taking Dingdang to stop the infighting between Candle Dragon and Taotie. When you see her in a couple of days, you’ll naturally realize I’m telling the truth."
Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue exchanged a glance. They already believed more than half of what he said.
He knew about Taotie and Candle Dragon’s conflict in such detail, and even knew that Lady Lin Yafeng went to fetch Dingdang to mediate. Even among the members of the Demon God Hall, very few were privy to such highly classified matters.
With a wave of her hand, Dong Chengyue retracted her eighty-one East Moon Profound Lady Needles. "If you know the two Ladies and are aware that Mengxue and I are their subordinates, why did you play us for fools?" she asked coldly. "And why did you severely injure Ren Xudong and Zheng Tianfeng?"
A faint smirk touched the corners of Shen Lang’s lips. "I can only say that I never intended to play you two. I was only toying with Ren Xudong and Zheng Tianfeng. You ladies were just dragged down by association."
Dong Chengyue choked on her anger, momentarily speechless.
"The reason I dealt with Ren Xudong was that he coveted my Cultivation Technique and harbored murderous intent toward me," Shen Lang continued. "As for you two... at worst, I simply didn’t tell you the exact time the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array would be broken. From start to finish, it doesn’t seem like I ever really used you, much less made an enemy of you, right? After all, didn’t you both walk out of the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array completely unharmed?"
Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue were struck mute.
Putting it that way, Shen Lang really hadn’t targeted them at all. At most, they had bickered a little. Both women were still completely unscathed. If he had truly wanted to eliminate them, how could he have possibly let them walk out of the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array? He possessed the ability to cripple Ren Xudong with Netherworld Qi in a heartbeat; he certainly had the strength to do the exact same to them. In all fairness, while the two of them were slightly stronger than Ren Xudong, the gap was incredibly narrow.
At this moment, Qin Mengxue sent a telepathic message. "I don’t know about the rest, but the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire practically confirms his deep ties with our Lady. If you still want to fight him..."
"You think I’m an idiot? I can see it too. His claims about knowing our Ladies are probably true!" Dong Chengyue replied telepathically. "This kid definitely held back against us. If he really wanted to take us down, he had plenty of chances inside that Twelve All Heaven Beast Array. Besides, he’s already obtained the Beast Soul from the array. Even if he’s faking it, what can we do to him?"
"We need to head up as quickly as possible and report this to the higher-ups," Qin Mengxue transmitted back. "He severely injured Zheng Tianfeng and Ren Xudong. I’m worried Candle Dragon will make a move against him."
Dong Chengyue rolled her eyes. "Master Zhulong probably can’t even solve his own problems right now, yet here you are fretting over this kid. Mengxue, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him? Never trust a man! They’re all worthless trash. Women are so much better!"
Qin Mengxue almost blew a fuse on the spot.
Dong Chengyue continued her telepathic chatter. "Honestly, no matter how I look at this guy, I find him incredibly annoying! Everything he says is so rude, and his actions are downright infuriating..."
Qin Mengxue cut her off. "If he really is close friends with the two Ladies, he has absolutely no reason to be polite to us. Besides, he’s incredibly resourceful. It’s rare to see someone who can casually cripple Ren Xudong and Zheng Tianfeng with such ease."
"Look at you! I knew you’d fallen for him!" Dong Chengyue exclaimed, her jealousy flaring up.
Infuriated, Qin Mengxue didn’t even bother with telepathy this time. She shouted right out loud, "Dong Chengyue, if you spout any more of your nonsense, I’m gonna teach you a lesson!"
Shen Lang blinked in surprise. The two women had been perfectly fine a moment ago. Were they seriously about to brawl?
If they fought, so be it. As far as the Demon God Hall was concerned, the more chaotic things got, the better. When it came to the women of the Demon God Hall, the concept of chivalry didn’t even exist in Shen Lang’s dictionary.
His bluntness toward Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue wasn’t born out of arrogance just because he knew Lin Yafeng and Lan Mengling. It was simply because his own identity made it impossible for him to harbor any goodwill toward anyone from the Demon God Hall. Even with Lan Mengling—once he learned she belonged to the Demon God Hall and was one of the Five Great Demon Generals, a subconscious aversion had already taken root in his heart. Expecting the Master of War God Hall to be polite to the lackeys of the Demon God Hall was like expecting the sun to rise in the west.
Watching Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue glaring at each other like roosters ready for a cockfight left Shen Lang caught between amusement and exasperation.
"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, if there’s nothing else, you two may leave." Shen Lang made a gesture of dismissal.
Dong Chengyue nearly fainted from anger. "Don’t get too cocky, kid! Even if you know our Ladies, you don’t get to boss me around! You don’t own this road, so what’s with that dismissive attitude?"
Qin Mengxue’s expression also soured.
Shen Lang’s words sounded polite, but they were anything but. While they knew he had some connection to Lin Yafeng and Lan Mengling, the fatal problem was that they had no idea how deep that connection ran! If they were merely acquaintances, there was no need to be polite to him; they could just go their separate ways and mind their own business. But if they were extremely close... then offending him was absolutely out of the question. Given the presence of the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, the latter scenario seemed far more likely.
But this kid’s tone was just begging for a beating! He was actually trying to shoo them away!
On their way up, both women had noticed the completely stripped Celestial Essence Fruit orchard. Now, with Shen Lang acting so defensive, it was glaringly obvious that there was something highly valuable further down this path. Knowing there was treasure ahead, who would willingly walk away?
Dong Chengyue’s eyes darted around. Before Shen Lang could speak, she let out a coquettish giggle, completely changing her demeanor. "Little brother, is there some kind of treasure down this road? Since you said you know our Ladies, doesn’t that make us all one big family? And since we’re family, acting like this really breaks a girl’s heart..."
"You should know that heartbreak is inevitable, so why bother getting so deeply attached? I want the whole world to know that this fish pond... oh wait, this road, has been entirely claimed by me." Shen Lang nodded with shameless conviction. "Please take a detour, ladies. Feelings are feelings, but business is business."
As he said this, his eyes remained perfectly calm, not showing the slightest hint of shame. He acted as if this were his own private orchard, and Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue were mere trespassers whom he had every right to evict.
Standing off to the side, Duanmu Xie almost burst out laughing. It took a special kind of person to say something like that to two beautiful women with a straight face.
"And what if your big sister insists on taking this road?" Dong Chengyue asked in a pouting, flirtatious tone.
Shen Lang raised an eyebrow. "The only reason I don’t want to fight you is because of Lan’Er and the others. If you insist on making things ugly, I can guarantee you’ll end up exactly like Zheng Tianfeng. At most, it’ll just take me a little more time."
"You!" Dong Chengyue nearly jumped in fury. "What an arrogant brat! This is the first time I, Dong Chengyue, have ever met someone like you! Do you really think I’m scared of you?"
Despite her tough talk, Shen Lang had just personally admitted to subduing the Beast Soul from the Twelve All Heaven Beast Array. Deep down, Dong Chengyue was actually quite intimidated.
Shen Lang didn’t bother replying. Instead, he shot a meaningful glance at Duanmu Xie.
Startled, Dong Chengyue assumed the Zombie was about to attack. She instantly summoned her East Moon Profound Lady Needles, bracing herself for a fight.
To her surprise, Duanmu Xie simply swaggered past the two women. With a heavy stomp, he crushed the already half-crippled Zheng Tianfeng straight into the dirt.
Then, the brute casually pocketed the pair of Sun and Moon Heaven and Earth Wheels and stripped the Sumeru Ring right off Zheng Tianfeng’s finger.
"You humans are such show-offs. You just love wearing your Sumeru Rings on your fingers and stuffing all your best treasures inside them," Duanmu Xie lectured solemnly. "This Emperor is going to teach you a lesson so you’ll know better next time. Take me, for example. I hide all my good stuff inside my body where no one can touch it! I only put the junk in my Sumeru Ring."
While earnestly counseling Zheng Tianfeng, Duanmu Xie ruthlessly slapped the man several times, driving multiple Restrictions into his body.
Already severely injured, Zheng Tianfeng was now thoroughly crippled. It would take him decades to even hope for a recovery.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of Dong Chengyue and Qin Mengxue, Duanmu Xie punted Zheng Tianfeng down the mountain like a football!
For an expert at the Emperor Martial Realm Eighth Heaven, tumbling down a mountain like a rolling gourd wouldn’t be fatal. However, the sheer humiliation of it was a fate worse than death. This was an indignity Zheng Tianfeng would likely never forget for the rest of his life.