Chapter 5040: Soul Fog

Putong!

Sima Xiangtu fell to his knees and kowtowed hard onto the floor ten times before he began his explanation. 

“Lord Taibai, I’ve secretly examined the soul-linking formation Chu Feng has planted in young master Kongping earlier and I realized that it’s not to be made light of. It has already taken root in young master Kongping’s soul, such that it’ll be impossible to quickly dispel it.

“Chu Feng is a cunning person, so I couldn’t let him think that he has managed to grab hold of my weakness. Otherwise, he’ll surely make other demands after I do his bidding. So, I wanted to scare him into backing down. If he had used his life to force me to comply, I would have surely given in. 

“Putting aside releasing his master, I would have even offered my life to him if it was necessary. I would have never dared to use young master Kongping’s life to gamble!” 

Sima Xiangtu didn’t even dare to raise his head as he explained his stance. From that, it could be seen just how much he feared those from the Pill Dao Immortal Sect. 

“Bullshit! You turned a blind eye as I was suffering earlier on, and you still dare to spout such nonsense! Jiang Taibai, don’t waste your breath with him and kill this old thing! 

“No, that won’t do. I’ll be letting him off too easily if I kill him outright. Let’s torture him to death instead!” Jiang Kongping sat up and gave Sima Xiangtu a tongue-lashing. 

“Calm down, young master Kongping. Let’s dispel the formation first.”

The others from the Pill Dao Immortal Sect quickly placated Jiang Kongping. As long as this formation remained on him and Chu Feng wasn’t too far away, his life would remain under Chu Feng’s control. 

There was no way the Pill Dao Immortal Sect would tolerate something like that. 

If anything were to happen to Jiang Kongping, all of them would be in deep trouble.

“Sima Xiangtu, you should know very well who young master Kongping is. I can turn a blind eye to your transgression, but we’ll still have to wait for Lord Jingyu’s verdict to determine your outcome. 

“For now, you’re dismissed. Go and deal with the Nine Souls Sacred Clan first,” Lord Taibai said with a wave of his hand. 

Sima Xiangtu quickly bowed deeply before taking his leave.

“Jiang Taibai, why are you setting him free just like that? Didn’t you see how he left me to the lurch earlier on?” Jiang Kongping sat up once more and exclaimed. 

He had no hesitation talking back even to Lord Taibai. 

“Young master Kongping, you should be aware that we’re here under your father’s orders. Sima Xiangtu plays a crucial role in our plans. If he dies, our efforts will be in vain. Even your father, Lord Jingyu, wouldn’t allow you to eliminate him at this juncture.

“Besides, if you truly harbor a grudge toward him, you just have to give the word after this mission is over, and you’ll be able to do whatever you want to Sima Xiangtu,” Lord Taibai replied. 

“That’s nothing but a legend. Even my father wasn’t able to find it. Do you think that he’ll really be able to do it? Taking a step back, do you think that his cultivation would only be at this level if he really has the ability to do so? He even has to count on us for help! In my view, we should just hurry up and leave this godforsaken land. That legend is nothing but a lie,” Jiang Kongping scoffed in disdain. 

“Young master Kongping, do you recognize this?”

Lord Taibai reached into his robes and retrieved an item. It was initially the size of a palm, but as soon as it was thrown out, it swiftly expanded to over a hundred meters tall. 

It was a platform made out of a beautiful transparent jade. However, this was not just any ordinary jade but an extremely precious material, evident from the mysterious energy that was visibly flowing within it. 

“Isn’t that the talent assessing rock of our Pill Dao Immortal Sect? How could I possibly not recognize it? I was just about to ask you if you have forgotten how I shocked the entire Pill Dao Immortal Sect when I stood on top of the talent assessing rock back then,” Jiang Kongping said gleefully.

“Of course I do. The result of young master Kongping’s talent assessment is rank eight Immortal Overglow. Thus far, there are no more than twenty people since the founding of our Pill Dao Immortal Sect who have managed to induce a rank eight Immortal Overglow,” Lord Taibai said. 

“It’s good that you remember,” Jiang Kongping replied with a gleeful smile.

“Young master Kongping, do you know why your father, Lord Jingyu, chose to trust Sima Xiangtu?” Lord Taibai asked. 

“Tell me,” Jiang Kongping replied. 

“Lord Jingyu has used this talent assessing rock on Sima Xiangtu without him knowing. The result is rank nine Immortal Overglow,” Lord Taibai replied.

“Rank nine Immortal Overglow?! That’s impossible! Ever since the founding of our Pill Dao Immortal Sect, no one has managed to induce a rank nine Immortal Overglow other than our sect founder. He’s still a Martial Exalted level cultivator despite his age, so how could he possibly induce a rank nine Immortal Overglow?” Jiang Kongping exclaimed in disbelief. 

He knew very well what a rank nine Immortal Overglow meant.

“Young master Kongping, I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. I was present that day too, and it was indeed a rank nine Immortal Overglow. There’s no mistake about it,” Lord Taibai said. 

“Impossible. He must be at least several thousand years old, no? How could someone with such great talent possibly be so weak?” Jiang Kongping asked.

“Lord Jingyu and I couldn’t figure that out either, but Sima Xiangtu does possess capabilities that we don’t have,” Lord Taibai said.

“Capabilities? What capabilities does he possess? He’s just a scheming old rascal,” Jiang Kongping sneered in disdain. 

He looked down on Sima Xiangtu from the bottom of his heart, having seen many people like that. 

“Young master Kongping, why don’t you have a look at this?”

Lord Taibai took out a gourd that Sima Xiangtu had given him previously. The moment he uncorked the gourd, a whiff of green aura began drifting out. 

The palace began to tremble as soon as the green aura flowed out. Lord Taibai had to exert his martial power before the palace finally calmed down.

But even so, everyone was still able to sense what kind of power the green aura possessed.

“This can’t possibly be the legendary Soul Fog that’s hidden in the Nine Souls Galaxy, is it?” Jiang Kongping asked excitedly.

“Indeed, this is the legendary Soul Fog. And Sima Xiangtu was the one who found it,” Lord Taibai said. 

“He really found it? But… isn’t it just a legend?” 

Jiang Kongping was shocked.

“We have already talked it through with him. We’ll lend him the Immortal Cauldron, and he’ll supply a never-ending supply of Soul Fog for us. If he fails to fulfill his end of the bet, we will take his life,” Lord Taibai said.

“But what if he succeeds?” Jiang Kongping asked.

“He still won’t be able to escape death. That’s Lord Jingyu’s will,” Lord Taibai replied.

Jiang Kongping’s lips curled into a smile upon hearing those words. He placed his hands behind his head and laid back down before murmuring, “That sounds more like my father.”

A short moment later, he added with a frown, “Looks like I’ve underestimated Sima Xiangtu.”