928 Lord Ji

"A friend, huh?" Yuan glanced at Patriarch Gu, who looked much better than before in terms of appearance, almost as though he'd been resurrected.

Lord Ji smiled and said, "There's no point in hiding the truth. Indeed, it was Patriarch Gu who asked me for help."

"And to tell you the truth, I have been watching you ever since you came out of the Stairway to Heaven, Yuan."

"Huh? You have been stalking me since I came to Spirit Heaven?" Yuan was surprised to learn this information, even a little creeped out by it.

Lord Ji laughed out loud, "No, I wouldn't call it stalking. I didn't physically watch you with my own eyes— I simply gathered information about you."

"You had piqued my interest, so I wanted to know more about you— to understand you. Unfortunately, I still cannot understand your existence even as we speak. Your background is a complete mystery, almost nonexistent, almost as though you'd suddenly popped into this world."

"Tell me, where did you come from?" Lord Ji narrowed his sharp eyes at Yuan.

Yuan remained calm and said, "Sorry, but I don't have the time to chit chat with you."

"Then when will you have time?"

"I will think about it after I kill those two behind you."

Lord Ji's eyes widened, and he proceeded to speak in a surprised voice, "You still have thoughts about killing them even though I am clearly trying to protect them? No one has ever dared to stand up to me like this— not even when I was little."

"Of course. They tried to kill me and harm my friend, and they clearly won't stop even if I forgive them today."

Lord Ji sighed, "Why don't you give me some face today and let them go, Yuan? I promise you that I will make it worthwhile. Nothing good will come out of going against my Ji Family. Let's just be friends with each other, okay?"

Yuan sneered at his words and spoke, "Unfortunately, I don't want to be friends with someone who is willing to protect these good-for-nothing that wouldn't think twice before plotting against others."

"I don't care if you're the Lord of this realm or if your family oversees the Nine Heavens. Nothing will stop me from killing these two today."

The friendly smile on Lord Ji's face disappeared after he heard Yuan's words, and it was replaced by a cold expression.

"You're going to challenge the Stairway to Heaven soon, right? I have no doubt that you will be able to pass the trials and reach the Third Heaven with your talents, but once you ascend, you will not be able to return without my Ji Family's permission."

"Once you are gone, who will protect your friends? Who will be able to stop me— or anyone from harming your friends?" Lord Ji narrowed his eyes at Yuan.

Although Yuan isn't aware of it, Lord Ji was only bluffing. As the Lord of Spirit Heaven, he cannot act against the residences of the world he governs without a proper reason, or he will be punished by the Heavens and have his authority stripped.

This means that even if he hates someone with all of his guts, he cannot harm that individual unless that person does something that violates the laws of this world and blatantly goes against the Heavens.

With that being said, that doesn't restrict Patriarch Gu and his family from harming Wang Xiuying and the others once Yuan leaves this world, so that is a possibility.

"So what you're saying is that I should remove the Ji Family and the Gu Family from this world before I ascend to the next world, right? As much as I hate killing, if it means my friends are safe…" Yuan suddenly released his cultivation base.

'What a terrifying aura! Even though he's only a Spirit Lord, he emits a pressure that surpasses even mine as a peak Spirit King!' Lord Ji was shocked inwardly by Yuan's talents.

Yuan's aura was so powerful that it choked Patriarch Gu, who was a Spirit King.

"Calm down, Yuan. I won't fight you. In fact, I cannot harm you until you attack me." Lord Ji raised his hand to surrender.

"If you really want to kill these two behind me, I won't stop you."

"What?! Lord Ji! You cannot abandon them after giving us hope! It's too cruel!" Patriarch Gu was shocked to hear such words.

"Please, Lord Ji! Save us!" Disciple Gu cried out loud.

Lord Ji looked at Patriarch Gu and said, "You know that I cannot physically intervene in your conflicts. I have already done everything that I could. I thought that words would be enough to stop this young man, but I was wrong. He's more crazy than I thought— crazy enough to threaten my Ji Family."

He then faced Yuan and continued, "I admire your attitude and boldness, Yuan. However, you have caused me to lose face before so many influential people today, and nobody that goes against me or my Ji Family has ever gotten away unpunished."

"It might not happen tomorrow or a month later, but mark my words, I will not forget this slap in my face, Yuan."

Despite showing no signs of anger, his voice was so cold that it caused everyone there but Yuan to tremble in fear.

"This is your last chance. Choose wisely." Lord Ji suddenly moved away from Elder Gu and Gu Zhiting, giving Yuan a clear path to them.

Yuan narrowed his eyes on Lord Ji, wondering if it was a trap. However, Lord Ji showed no signs of wanting to interfere.

"Please! Spare us! We were wrong! I swear that I won't harm you or your friends in the future!" Elder Gu pleaded.

"M-Me too! I swear that I—"

However, before Gu Zhiting could even finish his sentence, Yuan mercilessly swung his sword, killing the both of them with his Sword Aura almost instantly.

"BROTHER! SON! NO!!!" Patriarch Gu roared in despair.

Lord Ji took a deep breath after witnessing Elder Gu and Gu Zhiting's death, and he turned to look at Yuan with a vicious face, who was looking at the Grail of Truth, which was emitting a golden glow.

"I would have spared them if this treasure didn't have a reaction. Unfortunately…" Yuan sighed in a low voice.