Chapter 3173 — An Impossible Calamity

"That Wei Zhao is a force to be reckoned with—he can kill opponents above his own rank! He cut down a mid Heaven Rank expert of the Dongfang family in a single strike before, and now he has slain two experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank. Word is he used some secret art that comes at a cost, but be that as it may, he had been concealing his true strength all along!" Feng Tianhu said. "Who knows whether killing two late Heaven Rank experts at their peak is the limit of his power—it may even be that he can slay experts of the great-perfection late Heaven Rank!"

"Then... what are we going to do?" Dongfang Xiaocui's face drained of color. "Could he know that this was a plot the two of us hatched? Will he come for us? If he does, we're dead! Tianhu, think of something, quick—what do we do?"

Dongfang Xiaocui was frantic. For the first time she felt helpless, felt fear. The Dongfang family could no longer be her shield, for experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank could be struck down by Wei Zhao's hand as well, and Dongfang Xiaocui was afraid—afraid that Wei Zhao would come to take his revenge on her.

"Don't panic yet. Wei Zhao must know—after all, he was brought here by my second brother, and my second brother would surely have told him about the matter between you and me. So there's no use in panicking; all we can do is think of a countermeasure." Feng Tianhu was likewise agitated and ill at ease.

"How about we go to him of our own accord and kneel and beg for mercy—beg him not to kill us, tell him I won't dare, I'll never dare move against Xu Shilan again, and ask him to forgive us. How about that?" Dongfang Xiaocui was growing desperate. "Yes, that's it! I'll kneel and beg. I hear he's the leader of the Poets. I'm the Poets' mother—even if he doesn't want to spare me, surely he'll give his own little brother the Poets some face? I'll talk to the Poets right now and get them to help!"

Feng Tianhu was far from pleased. He thought to himself: once Wei Zhao no longer blames you, he'll surely vent his fury on me. What am I to do then? It seems a woman with so little up top is simply useless; allying with her is nothing but asking for trouble!

Yet Feng Tianhu had no other way out. Dongfang Xiaocui could lean on Feng Shihua, but he could not—Feng Shihua loathed him to the bone, so how could he possibly help him? Feng Tianhu hesitated. What will be will be; if disaster cannot be avoided, it cannot be avoided. He could only do his utmost to find a way.

"Then you go on ahead. I'll think of something else," Feng Tianhu said, somewhat helplessly.

Dongfang Xiaocui went off to beg her son Feng Shihua to intercede, while Feng Tianhu, after returning, did not give up either. Instead he phoned Dongfang Jinxing! This affair had been carried out by him and Dongfang Jinxing together; even if he died, he would drag someone down with him to cushion the fall!

Dongfang Jinxing was in fact also waiting for word from Dongfang Yinxing. Earlier that day Dongfang Yinxing had spoken with him and decided to strike at Wei Zhao that night, the agreed hour being around midnight. But now dawn was nearly breaking, and no word had come. This bred a foreboding in Dongfang Jinxing's heart.

By any reckoning, two experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank killing a single early Heaven Rank expert like Wei Zhao should have been the work of minutes and taken no time at all. Yet several hours had passed and still there was no word. How could Dongfang Jinxing not be anxious?

"Jinxing, you are now the young family head, the master of the Dongfang family—how can you be so unsettled?" Dongfang Badao cast a glance at Dongfang Jinxing. He, for his part, had confidence in Dongfang Yinxing: experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank were among the top existences in the present world of cultivation, and even an expert of the great-perfection late Heaven Rank could not be said to slay one of them with ease, let alone Wei Zhao.

"Ah, Father, shall I give Yinxing a call and ask?" Dongfang Jinxing was truly restless; unless he knew Dongfang Yinxing to be safe, he could not sit or stand at ease.

"If you call, I fear Yinxing may be in the middle of his assassination mission and you'll only distract him. Instead, send a text message—when Yinxing sees it, he'll reply," Dongfang Badao said after a moment's thought.

"Very well!" Dongfang Jinxing nodded and picked up his phone. But before he could send the message, the ringtone sounded. Dongfang Jinxing glanced at the caller display—it was actually Feng Tianhu calling!

What was Feng Tianhu calling about at such a late hour? Dongfang Jinxing was somewhat puzzled, but since the two were partners, he answered the call anyway. "Feng Tianhu, what's the matter?"

"Brother Dongfang, disaster has struck—Mr. Dongfang Yinxing and the Pure Yin Heavenly Worthy have both fallen!" Feng Tianhu said urgently.

"What!? What did you say!? What happened to Yinxing?" Dongfang Jinxing was aghast, scarcely able to believe his own ears. "I didn't mishear, did I? Say that again?"

"Brother Dongfang, you didn't mishear... Word has just come in: the two of them were killed in a single strike by Wei Zhao with a secret art, right at his own doorstep!" Feng Tianhu sighed. He understood Dongfang Jinxing's frame of mind—had he not himself been utterly shocked when the news first reached him?

"What? Wei Zhao killed them in a single strike? How is that possible? Both of them were experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, and Wei Zhao is a mere early Heaven Rank novice—how could he possibly slay them in a single strike? You're lying to me, aren't you?" Dongfang Jinxing refused to believe Feng Tianhu's words. Though he knew Feng Tianhu would never dare jest about such a matter, he still clung to a faint hope.

"Alas!" Feng Tianhu said helplessly. "Brother Dongfang, if Wei Zhao can slay a mid Heaven Rank expert above his own rank in a single strike, why couldn't he slay experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank the same way? Didn't Zhang Naipao of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect do the very same thing back then, finishing off Dongfang Bushu, an expert at the peak of the late Heaven Rank?"

"That was nothing but a trick, an opportunistic fluke! If it hadn't been in the savage wilds of the Five Baleful Lands, with so many spirit beasts about, Bushu would never have died—at worst he would have been temporarily dazed!" Dongfang Jinxing argued in retort.

"Wei Zhao used a secret art too, and word is he paid a certain price to slay experts at the peak of the late Heaven Rank!" Feng Tianhu said. "I don't know what price Wei Zhao paid, but at least for now it seems Wei Zhao is no worse for wear. It may well be that Wei Zhao can slay even experts of the great-perfection late Heaven Rank..."

"No... that's impossible! How could he be so formidable? How could such a person exist? He's a lone cultivator, not the scion of any sect!" Dongfang Jinxing roared, his composure slipping.