The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 558: Disaster by Man? I’ll Stop the Snow

Chapter 558: Disaster by Man? I’ll Stop the Snow

Qingwu instantly understood Yan Buxiu’s intent. Without a moment’s hesitation, he slightly nodded, agreeing with Yan Buxiu’s approach.

"Palace Master Du, how do you think we should find this person?" Qingwu asked while he and Yan Buxiu subtly moved closer.

Palace Master Du stroked his beard and said, "This person has gained an advantage, so he might act again. We should use a tracking spell on the remaining Glassy Bottles. Even if we can’t capture him, it will serve as a deterrent."

Qingwu nodded, "Palace Master Du makes a good point."

Once they were close enough, both Qingwu and Yan Buxiu struck at the same time—one going for Palace Master Du’s neck, the other for his Dantian.

Palace Master Du, unprepared and unsuspecting of the two, didn’t even have time to react. Although he had reached the Nascent Soul stage, Qingwu and Yan Buxiu were much stronger.

In an instant, Palace Master Du’s head was twisted off, and his Golden Core was ripped out. He didn’t even have the chance to scream as his headless body crumpled to the ground, stirring up dust.

This all happened in the blink of an eye.

The Master of Seven Peaks and the other two sect leaders widened their eyes in shock. They immediately drew their swords or summoned their magical weapons, glaring at Qingwu and Yan Buxiu with both anger and caution.

"What are you doing?!" Seven Peaks Master roared.

Yan Buxiu’s face was cold as he crushed the Golden Core in his hand, "The Spirit Tree of Penglai Island cannot be allowed to wither, so one of the sects had to be sacrificed."

"You’re mad! We... we went through this together as brothers in arms!" one sect leader exclaimed, trembling with both fear and anger. "Are we next on your list?!"

The three were on high alert.

Yan Buxiu said, "I only want the Glassy Bottle from Limitless Palace to protect Penglai Island’s Spirit Tree."

Qingwu added, "I swear with Island Master Yan, we won’t harm you. Rest assured, we’re not your enemies."

The two then sliced their hands and made blood oaths to the heavens.

Seeing that their expressions were still wary, Yan Buxiu offered, "Penglai Island has many magical treasures. The three of you may select a few as compensation."

At this, the trio exchanged glances and finally nodded in satisfaction.

Their initial anger wasn’t truly for Palace Master Du’s sake, but rather out of fear for their own lives. Now that Qingwu and Yan Buxiu had made oaths and given them gifts, they felt more at ease. After all, it was Limitless Palace that was being targeted, not their own sects.

Secretly, they even felt a bit pleased, knowing that with Palace Master Du gone, Limitless Palace would likely fall into disarray, which could benefit their sects.

However, the Seven Peaks Master still raised a concern, "But how will we explain Palace Master Du’s death at Penglai Island?"

Qingwu smiled, "We’ll say a thief came to steal from Penglai Island, and Palace Master Du fought them off but was tragically killed."

It was a plausible explanation, especially since the thief had already killed two of Qingwu’s disciples. Limitless Palace, being primarily composed of talisman cultivators with weaker combat abilities, was an easy target. No wonder Qingwu and Yan Buxiu had chosen Palace Master Du.

In the Immortal World, as in the human realm, reason didn’t always matter—only whose fists were stronger.

The five sect leaders quickly reached an agreement. Qingwu would fetch Limitless Palace’s Glassy Bottle, while the others staged a scene of battle. Then, they would inform Limitless Palace of the "tragic news."

That very day, Limitless Palace was awash in tears and mourning. To make matters worse, they soon discovered their Spirit Tree was withering.

However, Palace Master Du had already dealt with those who knew the truth, and now that he was dead, no one in Limitless Palace had any idea what had truly transpired.

With Palace Master Du’s mysterious death, the new palace master initially wanted to confront the other sects for an explanation, but the withering Spirit Tree had weakened the palace’s spiritual energy. Seeing this, the disciples lost faith in fighting back. Within days, many elders and disciples defected, either joining the other sects or establishing their own minor sects. After all, staying at Limitless Palace seemed hopeless.

High in the sky, Yun Yubai hovered above Limitless Palace, observing the scene below. The six great sects each occupied their own territories, and with the Spirit Tree’s decline, this area’s spiritual energy had become almost negligible.

Limitless Palace now barely held on, supported only by its new palace master and a few loyal disciples, its former grandeur and influence long gone. And with its disciples leaving, its unique talisman techniques would soon spread, a devastating blow for any sect.

Yun Yubai sneered, "That old fox Yan Buxiu is ruthless. His own Glassy Bottle gets stolen, so he steals from others."

Though all this was partly his doing, he felt no guilt. It was simply karma. Palace Master Du was merely repaying for his sins.

As for the Glassy Bottle, he couldn’t hand it over to Nanli just yet. Qingwu and Yan Buxiu would undoubtedly be watching her. If he ventured into the human world, he’d be exposing himself.

Chuckling darkly, Yun Yubai decided he might as well continue sowing chaos in the Immortal World, ensuring that none of those involved in the past would find peace.

---

Mu Nation, Ye City.

The disaster relief efforts proceeded quickly, and the situation was soon under control.

Meanwhile, Qi Hong had returned to Qi Nation, swiftly reclaiming the throne and eliminating the traitors.

However, Qi Nation’s grain supplies were running low, prompting him to seek assistance from Border Nation. Only after Nanli’s approval did the Prime Minister agree to send food.

Yet the heavy snow still had not ceased.

Finally, today, Nanli found a moment of respite and threw five copper coins to divine an answer. After a glance, her face darkened as she muttered, "This isn’t a natural disaster... it’s man-made?"

She cast another divination, and the signs pointed northwest.

She raised an eyebrow and let out a cold laugh, "Kunlun? The Immortal World?"

How else could mortals cause such a prolonged snowstorm?

Nanli packed her bag and prepared to leave. Just then, a guard knocked on her door.

"Come in," Nanli called.

The guard entered, bringing with him a gust of snow, and behind him stood the governor of Ye City.

"Princess, the governor has come to report on the disaster," the guard announced.

Nanli, eager to depart, glanced at the governor and said, "No need. I have matters to attend to."

The governor quickly asked, "Princess, where are you headed? The people have enough food for now, but the snow keeps falling. The thatched houses are collapsing, and if it continues, even the sturdier homes won’t last."

Nanli nodded, "I’m aware. That’s why I’m going to stop the snow now. Just wait a while longer."

With that, she left the room.

The governor stood there, dumbfounded. Could it be that the princess intended to perform a ritual to pray for the snow to stop?

He thought of running after her to ask if she needed offerings for the ceremony, but when he stepped outside, she had already vanished from sight.

He sighed, "How could the heavens listen if the princess doesn’t even prepare any offerings?"

These young people really didn’t understand such things.

However, Nanli had gone straight to the Netherworld.

Due to the snowstorm, the number of souls had greatly increased, and the ghost envoys were overwhelmed with work.

Nanli marched directly to the Hell Lord’s Palace. The ghost envoys, upon seeing her, cried out in joy, "The ancestor has arrived!"

One voice after another echoed in the palace, and naturally, Qiu Hai inside heard them all.