"Do you not understand what I said?"
Hu Shaomeng's face had already darkened somewhat; he felt his authority was being frequently provoked.
This damned unknown person, this country bumpkin from who knows where, was pushing his luck again and again, simply ungrateful for the face shown to him.
He shouted with suppressed anger, "Now get out—"
But he swallowed the word "scram" before it left his mouth.
"I am a messenger of the Chongxuan family, my true name is Jiang Chen. I come from the State of Qi!"
Jiang Chen interrupted him coldly.
"If you have any doubts about my identity, you can contact anyone from the Chongxuan family that you can reach to verify."
"But whether you agree or not, willing or not. Right here, right now, I am taking over."
"This is a Chongxuan family mine, and I am their messenger. The Chongxuan family has granted me the authority to command this place, and that includes the power of punishment! Since you cannot bear the responsibility you should bear, then this authority is hereby reclaimed by me on behalf of the Chongxuan family. This matter, I will bear!"
He had originally wanted to wait a bit longer, to see more clearly what underhanded dealings Hu Shaomeng was involved in, what his plans were. That would have been foolproof, and worth the trouble of infiltrating the mine.
But if he waited any longer, Ge Heng might flee.
The mine was here and couldn't run away. But the world was vast, and there were plenty of dark corners where someone like Ge Heng could hide.
The considerations involved in this decision were ones Jiang Chen didn't even bother to weigh.
He couldn't possibly let this disgusting old man off.
He had endured enough.
Today, he, Jiang Chen, no longer needed to endure.
"Now I speak." Jiang Chen looked at Ge Heng and said, "You are guilty. You abused your maids, drove the innocent to death. You... have committed murder!"
Ge Heng was stunned for a moment, not understanding how Dugu An had suddenly become the Chongxuan family's messenger, Jiang Chen.
But he quickly reacted. Since Hu Shaomeng hadn't spoken up, it meant there really was a Chongxuan family messenger sent over.
"Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang! This one was blind to your great stature, and was disrespectful!" He apologized repeatedly.
As he spoke, he even slapped his own mouth, his tone humble: "You are a great person with great magnanimity, please don't hold it against me..."
Judging only by his fawning appearance now, who could imagine his arrogant demeanor when first encountered?
"What would I hold against you?" Jiang Chen said coldly. "What's between us is a trivial matter. What you've committed is a great crime."
"Lord Jiang." Ge Heng smiled ingratiatingly. "The so-called transcendent naturally transcends the mundane. We transcendent cultivators are no longer in the same world as those common folk. You and I are both transcendent cultivators, why fight over these ants?"
His head was extremely low, his back extremely hunched: "Whatever opinions or dissatisfaction you have, I can compensate. I come from the Greenwood Immortal Sect, I'm sure I can find a way to satisfy you."
His attitude was certainly there. His sincerity appeared genuine as well.
But until now, he still didn't know what he had done wrong.
He still thought that the reason Jiang Chen was targeting him was because of his earlier disrespect and contempt.
From beginning to end, he never felt that what he had done to those ordinary people was wrong. Even after abusing the maids, even after driving someone to death.
His mouth admitted fault, but his heart didn't know.
He wasn't admitting fault; he was simply yielding to a higher authority.
He didn't understand at all that for mere contempt and verbal altercations, Jiang Chen couldn't be bothered to hold a grudge.
It was precisely this attitude of viewing all living beings as grass, as ants, this attitude of causing the death of innocents while feeling no wrong, that infuriated Jiang Chen.
The entire Maple City district had been sacrificed just like this. The entire district had sunk into the Netherworld, countless souls condemned to eternal damnation, all to fulfill Zhuang Chengqian's breakthrough to the Dongzhen realm alone!
"What is 'mundane'? They work hard, striving to support their families—is that what you call 'mundane'?"
"They are honest and decent, never harboring ill intent toward others—is that what you call 'mundane'?"
"They don't steal, they don't rob, they don't cheat, they don't deceive. Relying on their own hands, working desperately hard—you call them 'vulgar'?"
"In my eyes, they are not vulgar at all; they are great! Within the ordinary, great lives are nurtured!"
Jiang Chen looked straight at Ge Heng, his gaze like a blade: "And you? Someone like you, who bullies the weak and fears the strong, who oppresses those below while bowing to those above, who acts human in public but is a thief and harlot behind closed doors. You have entered the transcendent realm but lack the magnanimity of the transcendent. You hold a high position but refuse to bear the responsibilities that come with it. That is what is vulgar! That is what is mundane!"
"And you!" His hand pointed at Zhang Hai, Xiang Qian, and Hu Shaomeng one by one.
"Holding a position without doing the work!"
"Living in a daze!"
"Numb and unfeeling!"
Finally, he returned his gaze to Ge Heng: "Cultivation, cultivation. You've cultivated away the human side of yourselves and cultivated out the beastly side! Vulgar beyond endurance, reeking to high heaven!"
Zhang Hai and Xiang Qian both fell silent. Hu Shaomeng seethed with suppressed anger but held his tongue.
Ge Heng was scolded thoroughly, itching to rage, but after all, he didn't dare act rashly toward a Chongxuan family messenger.
"Whenever I think that I, someone like you, share the rank of the transcendent, I feel insulted."
Like the final stroke of a brush sealing a decree, there was no turning back.
Jiang Chen said his last words: "In the name of Jiang Chen, I strip you of your transcendent qualification!"
Ge Heng surged to his feet. Of course he wouldn't surrender without a fight.
Since pleading for mercy was useless, he might as well take a desperate gamble. Kill this damned messenger—at worst, he could flee the State of Yang, and the Chongxuan family might not be able to find him.
"Go to—"
His curse had barely left his mouth, not even the first word fully uttered.
His entire body was already immobilized.
His mouth couldn't speak, his limbs couldn't move; only his eyes showed a terror he couldn't suppress.
Tiger Bind!
Among the Grade-A superior Dao arts, the Tiger Bind was considered excellent. In battles at Jiang Chen's level, it might only restrain an opponent for a few breaths.
But against a mere Roaming Meridian realm cultivator, an aged and weakened Ge Heng, it was more than enough to control him to death.
This single Dao art extinguished any notion Hu Shaomeng had harbored, making him obediently compliant.
Jiang Chen walked slowly toward Ge Heng, step by step, as if treading on his heart, nearly driving him to his knees in desperation.
But the wood energy within him bound him from the inside out; he couldn't even kneel if he wanted to.
"You enjoy tormenting people? You revel in the thrill of abuse?"
Jiang Chen asked as he walked behind the old man. He drew his sword, Changxiangsi (Longing), and pressed its tip against the junction of Ge Heng's spine and cervical vertebrae.
That cold touch sent a chill through Ge Heng's entire body.
He had once savored the feeling of those pitiful maids struggling and begging, weeping bitterly, screaming endlessly.
But now he couldn't even shout.
He couldn't even struggle or weep; all his fear and resentment had nowhere to vent.
The long sword slowly descended.
The sharp blade met no resistance whatsoever, easily splitting the entire spine.
For any cultivator below the Soaring Dragon realm, this meant... the collapse of the Celestial Palace.
The Dao essence dissipated, the five qi went into disarray, and the Tiger Bind automatically failed.
Jiang Chen sheathed his sword. Ge Heng collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.
Only now could he let out a mournful wail.
He had been completely crippled, and now was even weaker than an ordinary old man.
Aged, fragile, powerless.
Once lofty and above, now fallen to the dust.
Jiang Chen glanced at Hu Shaomeng, Zhang Hai, and Xiang Qian, and said calmly: "Follow me."
He led these transcendent cultivators back to the earlier meeting room, leaving Ge Heng to the angry crowd.
Le Wen