NOVPUBShen Fu snorted coldly,
"I should have known better than to save you just now!"
Gong Xiyin fell silent at once.
Then, he suddenly spoke up again,
"Just now, you used ’Seizure and Explosion Art’ from Jiang Taiyin, the Tool Master, didn’t you?"
A violent tremor went through Shen Fu’s heart.
His gaze fixed on Gong Xiyin, his eyes narrowed slightly with a scornful tone,
"Senior Brother Gong, if you are looking for trouble with me, you don’t need to find other excuses."
Their gazes locked.
Gong Xiyin suddenly burst into laughter, and as he laughed, his smile grew larger and more exaggerated.
He even laughed until tears came streaming down.
A flicker of imperceptible doubt and killing intent flashed in Shen Fu’s eyes.
In his sleeve, several precious Magic Tools from the Three Continents began to quietly emerge...
However, the next moment, to Shen Fu’s astonishment, Gong Xiyin suddenly reined in his smile, bowed deeply to him, and said solemnly,
"Gong Xiyin, greets the Lord!"
"The Lord?"
Shen Fu was taken aback.
This title was usually used by Protectors to address the holy children in private.
But Gong Xiyin was not a Protector, and among the holy children, his position was even higher than Shen Fu’s.
Confusion in his heart.
Instead of retracting the Magic Tools in his sleeve, the mana on them grew even more astonishing.
Yet Gong Xiyin showed not the slightest arrogance from before and said respectfully,
"To report back to the Lord, Xi Yin was blind before, not recognizing the identity bestowed upon the Lord by the mandate of Heaven, and presumptuously rebelled. The Lord may punish as he pleases; I only ask that the Lord agrees to aid Xi Yin once his Cultivation has achieved success."
Shen Fu was even more perplexed.
This speech was virtually identical to that of the Protectors.
But the other party was of a higher rank even among the holy children, and his background within the Sect was in no way inferior to Shen Fu’s.
He truly couldn’t fathom what Gong Xiyin was plotting.
His expression turned slightly cold,
"Senior Brother Gong, I don’t have the leisure to play these sorts of games with you! With the Sect having lost two holy children and so many Protectors this time, I must report back to the Sect at once!"
Seeing this, Gong Xiyin knew that Shen Fu would never believe him and suddenly bit his tongue, drawing a complex pattern in the void with his blood.
"An Oath of Heaven and Earth?"
Shen Fu was suddenly startled.
This was an oath of a higher level than the Internal Demon Oath.
After all, at their stage of power, evading the Heart Demon with the help of some dharma treasures wasn’t too difficult.
An Oath of Heaven and Earth was swearing by the Heaven and Earth, being recognized by them.
But Gong Xiyin had already issued his vow,
"I, lowly cultivator Gong Xiyin, pledge to follow the Lord Shen Fu. As long as the Lord does not fail Gong Xiyin, Gong Xiyin will never fail the Lord! Should I break this vow, may Heaven and man abandon me, let every misfortune befall me, and may I be haunted by the five poisons, five evils, five fires, and five plagues..."
Hearing Gong Xiyin’s poisonous oath, Shen Fu’s expression finally began to show some change.
He looked intently at Gong Xiyin.
In midair, the complex pattern gradually faded, clearly signifying that the oath was sealed.
Shen Fu’s eyes held a trace of incomprehension,
"Why?"
Gong Xiyin had lost all his arrogance, standing at his side with his hands tied, dutifully saying,
"The Lord is a man of Heaven’s mandate, and Xi Yin follows the Lord above all!"
"A man of Heaven’s mandate?"
Shen Fu still couldn’t comprehend.
But compared to before, his wariness towards Gong Xiyin had finally lessened a bit.
After some questioning,
he couldn’t help but show an astounded expression,
"All this just because of the nickname ’Scourge of the Holy Children’?"
Gong Xiyin sighed wearily and helplessly explained,
"Lord, it’s not as simple as just a nickname... You went out with the holy children three times, and on every occasion since those times, the holy children who accompanied you either died or were crippled. If it were a coincidence, why is it that every time, only the holy children survive but not those with a higher Cultivation Base than the holy children?"
"This..."
Shen Fu didn’t know what to say at the moment.
He himself knew it was just a coincidence, but such frequent coincidences were indeed too abnormal.
Even he couldn’t help doubting, wondering if he really was that so-called ’Scourge of the Holy Children’.
"But this truly has nothing to do with me."
Shen Fu couldn’t help but explain.
However, Gong Xiyin loudly agreed,
"Exactly! That’s right!"
"It’s precisely because it’s unrelated to the Lord that this points to the problem... I asked the Lord earlier whether he knew about the existence of this monster in advance and if he was aware of its ferocity, the Lord was ignorant of both. Does this not prove it wasn’t the Lord’s intention, but rather the mandate of Heaven that specifically protects?"
"In a major calamity, there must be those with great fortunes destined to emerge... Xi Yin didn’t believe the Lord was a man favored by Heaven and Earth, but the situation was so perilous just now, we almost faced annihilation. Yet it was still the Lord who emerged unscathed, which finally convinced me!"
Shen Fu still couldn’t help but frown,
"But aren’t you also alive and well?"
Gong Xiyin shook his head,
"That’s because the Lord protected me. If it had been anyone else, even Yan Zhenyi wouldn’t have been able to save me."
"This clearly indicates it’s the will of Heaven, bidding me to follow the Lord!" n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
Upon hearing this, Shen Fu was still reluctant to believe.
But upon brief consideration, he also knew that this was the best possible outcome.
He had previously saved Gong Xiyin, hoping that the survival of both would diffuse some of the attention from him.
If he was the only survivor as before, following a complete annihilation, it would be too conspicuous.
He wouldn’t have enough time to search for the ten-thousand-year Ice Spirit Marrow in the North Sea.
Now that Gong Xiyin was treating him as the master, whether it was from genuine allegiance or a detection of danger that forced him to feign compliance, there was no need to fear a betrayal with the Oath of Heaven and Earth hanging over Gong Xiyin.
