Yang Qi was actually delighted that one of the Spritefolk was present. He was definitely going to kill multiple birds with only one stone here.

Nobody present had a psychic scale of over ten billion, which would ensure that things went very smoothly. Of course, that didn’t mean he could act rashly. The net of law in the Palace of Destiny was particularly strong, so if people found out he was doing something shifty, it would be difficult to escape.

Once that net of law was provoked, it could unleash innumerable attacks, and it would lock down like a spider web, trapping the target within it.

In response to Dugu Wanqing’s reproachful question, Yang Qi acted neither servile nor overbearing. “Exalted Priestess, I was out trying to expand the territory of the House of the Invincible. I wanted to see what kingdoms could be conquered. I’d made a bit of progress when I decided to return to take care of some business. That was when you summoned me.”

“What incredible gall!” another of the priestesses shouted, rising to her feet and unleashing immense pressure that was obviously designed to force Yang Qi to kneel. “How dare you talk to us like that. Have you no respect? On your knees!”

Crack!

Yang Qi unleashed a bit of godpower to counter the pressure and remained standing. “Our sect has rules. I'm a viceroy, and as long as I observe the proper etiquette, I don’t need to kneel. You’re going far beyond your authority here.”

“How outrageously brazen!” the same priestess replied, a cold smile on her face. “You’re just getting cockier and cockier here. Could it be that you think your backer, Duke Nine Cauldrons, will help you? Is that why you’re being so rude? Don't forget, we're planning to run an investigation to see why the destiny you control is so unusual. Let's cut to the chase here. You need to cut ties with Duke Nine Cauldrons and join us instead. Tell us how you managed to improve that destiny, and give us whatever magical treasure you recovered from the Bastille of the One God. After you join us, we’ll reward your loyalty.”

“Did the Invincible Dynasty decide to stop following the rules or something?” Yang Qi replied. “Aren't you worried that openly trying to turn me into a turncoat will provoke a reaction from the destiny here?”

Even as the words left his mouth, the destiny in the area began to pulse, with him at the center.

It was a natural function, as he was currently speaking with righteousness and justice on his side, whereas the priestesses were violating the interests of the sect, not to mention being very unreasonable.

Unfortunately, the destiny in this hall was actually very weak. Obviously, someone had used special techniques to reduce its effectiveness.

“Provoke a reaction from the destiny?” Dugu Wanqing laughed. “This is the Palace of Destiny! We control the destiny here, and can adjust it any time we want. Furthermore, you aren’t the least bit important. You’re nothing but a measly viceroy. It might be a slight violation of the rules, but we can bring you here for punishment if we want. It’s an unwritten rule among the officials of our dynasty. You’d better watch out, because your life’s on the line here.”

“Why do you people care so much about me? I’m just a simple viceroy. Isn’t it going a bit overboard for the Palace of Destiny to treat me like this?”

“There’s more to you than meets the eye,” the Spritefolk man suddenly said. Rising to his feet from the guest throne in which he sat, he strolled over to Yang Qi, his eyes twinkling. “You act very cool under pressure. In fact, I don’t think any other viceroy could act as cool as you in this situation. And that’s not to mention that you’re only a late Paramount God with a psychic scale of a few hundred million. You’re definitely hiding something. You see, I looked into the lands you run, and I understand it quite clearly. You have a lot of thralls running things there, unintelligent thralls that can't fight. Not even the ultimate thralls of all time, the ancient angels, could possibly run a nation. Yet your thralls do it perfectly. Their policies see instant results, which should be completely impossible for thralls.”

“Who are you?” Yang Qi asked.

“I’m a general of the Spritefolk. Sprite Guyuan.” Clasping his hands behind his back, he smiled coldly and continued, “As it turns out, there are 

crouching tigers and hidden dragons

in the House of the Invincible. Such geniuses really shouldn’t be skulking around as viceroys. What are you really doing here? Why are you hiding in the House of the Invincible?”

“Why should I answer any of your questions?” Yang Qi said coldly. “This is the House of the Invincible, and I’m a viceroy here. I have a responsibility to my nation and people, and have to answer to the emperor. You’re an outsider who has no right to be demanding answers from a viceroy. I'm a government official, and you’re nothing but a vassal. Who gave you the authority to interrogate me like a criminal?”

Yang Qi’s words were spoken extremely sharply, an open humiliation of Sprite Guyuan.

“Are you looking to die!?” Sprite Guyuan barked. “I think I’ll cut your head off right here and now, so everyone knows the price to be paid for insulting me!”

“Such audacity!” Yang Qi replied loudly. “How dare you talk about attacking a viceroy in the middle of the House of the Invincible? This is outright rebellion! You people from the Palace of Destiny, are you really going to stand for this repulsive behavior?”

“If a fight breaks out, General Sprite Guyuan, we can always look the other way,” one of the priestesses said. “Boy, did you really think the rules of our dynasty are that rigid? Do you really think they can't be broken? Let me tell you the truth. Those in superior positions here are vastly more powerful than their inferiors. 

We

make the rules here, and if Sprite Guyuan wants to kill you, we’ll just say the two of you agreed to have a martial arts match, and you accidentally lost your life. No one will care that much. Besides, Princess Sprite Susu is going to be marrying the exalted Dugu Yunkong soon. In other words, Sprite Guyuan will soon be a general of the Invincible Dynasty. And what do you count for compared to that?”

“Wow, you people really don’t care about the rules. You’ll harm the national destiny just like that?”

Glancing around, Yang Qi confirmed that they were completely cut off from the outside, and it caused him to smile inwardly. That was exactly what he wanted.

Glaring angrily, Sprite Guyuan said, “Considering how you just talked to me, boy, I’ve decided that I'm not going to ask any more questions. I'll just kill you and drag the answers out of your soul afterward. You think I won’t kill you because you’re a viceroy? All you’ve succeeded in doing is pissing me off!”

He seemed to view himself as an angry tiger facing a bunny, as though Yang Qi didn’t even have the ability to fight back.

In fact, his hand shot out, glittering with dazzling light as he said, “This is my Prism-Devil Nightmare Hand. After it latches on to you, you’ll descend into an endless nightmare that’ll make you wish you could die. Except I won't let you!”

CRACK!

The moment the words left his mouth, a loud smacking sound rang out as Yang Qi slapped him so hard he flew off to the side and slammed into the wall, blood pouring out of his mouth.

Yang Qi moved so quickly that none of the priestesses could even see what happened. Some of them even assumed he had experienced a sudden onset of cultivation deviation.

“You think a bit too much of yourself,” Yang Qi said, shaking his head. “And you people are the ones who blocked this place off from the outside destiny, so don’t blame me for this. You think some puny Spritefolk general can steamroll me?”

Instead of pulling his hand back, Yang Qi left it hanging in the air, making it obvious that he was the one who had just done the slapping. Then he made a grasping gesture, and Sprite Guyuan flew back toward him. Yang Qi grabbed him by the throat and held him up like a trussed chicken. Staring into his eyes, he said, “You’re weak, Sprite Guyuan. Couldn’t even stand up to a single slap from me. And you think you’re going to actually fight me?”

“You....”

The priestesses were all flabbergasted. However, after a moment passed, some of them took action. Some tried to unleash magical techniques, some tried sending out warning messages, and some tried unsealing the hall. Sadly, they then found that there was a greyspace surrounding them, which repelled all magic and all messages.

“Too late, ladies and gentlemen. I've already made this place into a pure land controlled by me. It's a good thing you cut this place off from destiny, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do this. You’ve 

spun a cocoon around yourselves

.” He waved his hand, and godtrees sprouted up everywhere. Above, stars appeared, mighty and grand in every sense.

“Who are you?” Dugu Wanqing said. “How are you doing this? And what are you doing in the House of the Invincible?” She obviously knew it was a dangerous situation, and given that they were stuck, she decided to try talking to him, and possibly scheme her way out of trouble.

“Who am I?” Yang Qi threw this head back and laughed. “My master is the Invincible Dugu, so you tell me who I am.” It was no lie. He was telling the truth.

“What?!” Dugu Wanqing said. “That’s absurd! Patriarch Invincible has been sleeping since the primeval era, and he never had any apprentices. Right now, the nine patriarchs are in control!”

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