Plundering the Heavens

Fang Xing had extremely smoothly and thoroughly sent over bribes, and his words were like music to these crab beasts’ ears who’d always favored those who’d referred to them as “general”.

The crab general on the left-hand side accepted the storage sack and took a quick look inside. His viciousness instantly reduced by a great amount and he showed a smile before saying to Fang Xing, “This general here has seen a good number of people like you, people who are here to watch and increase their knowledge despite not having an invitation. Technically speaking, you people aren’t allowed inside, but since Her Majesty the Dragon King’s daughter has left words, it is not a problem for those who are handsome and know proper etiquette. You’re not allowed to roam around freely inside though, do you understand?”

Fang Xing quickly smiled. “Of course, of course. Not only am I handsome, I’m also extremely well-versed in proper etiquette!”

The crab general on the right-hand side smiled as well. “I can see that myself, you are indeed a very sensible young man. You may go inside and seek a seat for yourself, do not offend any of the guests with invitations. What this Red Convention is about, I’m sure you would have heard before. Women cannot be let inside, nor your mount; let them wait for you outside to avoid problems appearing!”

Fang Xing was a bit reluctant towards this. The little miss herself wouldn’t be willing to stay outside, especially since her sole purpose for coming was to taste the delicious food inside. As for the golden crow, he was Fang Xing’s only hope of escaping if something were to happen, so it would be best if Fang Xing could take him along as well. After finding out how useless this little miss was despite the initial impressions, he’d stopped putting any hope on this so-called mountain of protection.

Fang Xing’s eyes shifted back and forth before he placed forward another storage sack, this time in the claws of the crab general on the right-hand side. “Please be understanding,” he softly spoke with a smile, “this girl is my maid and is extremely feeble, so she cannot be left outside. As for this crow, it was born with intelligence and can sing as well. It is a spirit beast I wish to present to Her Majesty as a present. Please allow me to take them both with me; I promise no problems will occur!”

Both the little miss and golden crow glared at him upon hearing such words, but Fang Xing hinted they should look at the larger picture.

The crab general on the right-hand side checked out the golden crow with interest. “Seems like just a normal spirit beast. It sings? Sing something then?” The golden crow’s cultivation level actually was still at spirit stage, so it was unlikely anyone would see through the story as long as nothing happened. These two crab generals were only at early-Foundation Stage and didn’t see any problems to make them doubtful, they were simply curious—it would be rather refreshing if it truly was a spirit beast that could sing.

The golden crow was under quite a bit of pressure already and the lotus girl had started to glare at him with impatience as well; he had no choice but to sing. “There’s a village girl named Xiao Hua, her body was tender and her breasts were plenty. Her Master Goldy would throw her a dozen silvers, tonight would be under her blanket….” His sharp voice rang out loudly like a broken gong, causing a shiver to go down all the nearby cultivators.

“Heh, it really sings. But dear brother, I suggest you do not present it to Her Majesty the Dragon King’s daughter….” The two crab generals were mere door guards, so they stopped asking questions and even offered Fang Xing some kind advice; rather than causing the Dragon King’s daughter to show favor, presenting this bird to her might even put his life at risk. Before the three could leave, the crab generals looked at the little miss and showed a smirk. “This maid of yours is also rather beautiful. Don’t have any regrets about taking her inside….”

“No regrets, no regrets,” Fang Xing promised. Only after those words were spoken did the two crab generals finally allow them to continue up the staircase.

“How was my singing not good?” the golden crow indignantly muttered while following along.

Once the three arrived at the hall, they saw an old soft-shelled crab guarding the gates. After a persuasive discussion that included all sorts of questions, Fang Xing casually gave a fake name before quietly passing over a hundred supreme-quality Spirit Stones. Only afterwards did he finally receive a temporary jade plate, something to represent their identity. From this, it could be seen that the number of those who came to watch even without an invitation wasn’t on the small side.

Beyond the gates of the Colored Glass Palace was a large hall. It was much more spacious compared to the public square down below, with hundreds of waist-thick white-jade pillars supporting the domed room. Closer inspection even revealed that the pillars were all shaped like male genitalia—not only was it direct, but also extremely daring. The hall was three hundred feet wide and two hundred feet long, and it had floor made from blue-colored glass while all kinds of bronze decorations and red-bead lanterns could be seen all over the hall.

There were three levels to the hall. The entrance was at the level level, the highest point was at the innermost depths where the Dragon King’s daughter would sit, and the area between was at the medium level. There were already a few small tables and sitting mats seated with guests while beautiful sea beast maids and clownfish servants swam nonstop to bring delicious food and wine on plates. At the innermost part of the hall, one small table had been placed in front of the Dragon King daughter’s seat with three more at the sides—all empty for the moment without their owners present.

A sea-snake-turned-female maid who’d been waiting in front of the hall came forward, and Fang Xing followed the soft-shelled crab beast’s earlier words by passing his identity plate over. The sea-snake beast’s smile began to falter when she saw it, then she looked at the little miss and golden crow behind Fang Xing before letting out a sneering laugh. “Even with such an appearance, fellow Daoist is also here for the Red Convention? Here, come sit here!” As she spoke, she pointed towards the area at the entrance of the hall, and although her smile didn’t lessen further, her look was one that made people feel uncomfortable.

“What about my appearance?” Fang Xing had been full of smiles and been showing the image of propriety. He’d even prepared a tip for her, but this sea-snake-beast maid had unexpectedly said such words and left him incredibly dissatisfied. No tips for her.

However, the sea-snake-beast maid didn’t seem to mind at all; she giggled and pointed towards the others at the entrance of the hall before saying, “You’ll know what I mean when you go and have a look!” With that, she softly shook her head and stopped speaking to Fang Xing in order to greet an important guest who’d just arrived. “Ohhh, dear Young Master Liu Qing of the Red Lava Island, it has been so long since I’ve seen you….”

‘Dammit, what a snob. Am I not handsome enough?’ The more Fang Xing thought about it, the angrier he became. Although he’d made slight adjustments to his appearance to disguise himself, most of it was still unchanged and to be looked down upon by this sea-snake-beast maid caused him to feel extremely annoyed. When he turned to look at the area she’d pointed him to, however, he instantly understood the meaning behind her words.

Although there were many guests within the hall, everyone had been categorized based on their identity and status. The area closest to the daughter of the Dragon King had a few extraordinary late Foundation Stage cultivators, all of whom had extraordinary identities judging from their clothing and accessories. It seemed that only the very important guests invited by the Red Convention could sit so close to the Dragon King’s daughter, and although it was difficult to find out who they were or where they’d come from in such a short time, there was no doubt their cultivation levels were the highest.

The central area mostly had cultivators with extraordinary presences and impressive appearances who likely came from famous and well-established clans. A pale red jade scroll was placed beside them, likely the invitation they’d receive from the Dragon King’s daughter as well as a representation of their identity. Although they might not be comparable to the most important guests, to be eligible for invitation naturally meant they weren’t ordinary people either.

Finally, at the lowest area were mostly people like Fang Xing who’d come without an invitation. Although their cultivation levels were low and their backgrounds were ordinary, most of them had come to try their luck with the delusional thoughts of being chosen by the Dragon King’s daughter and—through a night of pleasure—obtaining a good relationship or some benefits. Most of them were in early Foundation Stage, and there were even a few in Spirit Stage who hid carefully in the corners.

Regardless, although their status might be low, they all shared one similarity: each of them was extremely handsome. They might not have the beauty to bewilder tens of thousands of women, but it would not be difficult for them to gather a group of fans with even a slight smile. Those who’d dare come to the Red Convention as one of the guests without even this much would find things extremely difficult.

Fang Xing’s appearance was indeed far more ordinary in comparison, but this was not what Fang Xing thought—to him, his appearance was at least on the same level, if not even better. “That snake beast has no taste. Pffft, not only does she have no taste, she’s totally blind as well!” Fang Xing complained while sitting down in an area without anyone else, his original good mood completely ruined.

As for the little miss, she didn’t care about any of this stuff and had started filling her mouth with rare delicacies and aged wines from the moment she sat down. The golden crow, on the other hand, squatted down like a wooden block behind the lotus girl and didn’t move; within this palace, even someone like him wouldn’t dare to cause any trouble.

An early-Foundation Stage cultivator in a pale yellow robe smiled and turned before cupping his hands towards Fang Xing. “This fellow Daoist, where did you come from and what is your name?”

All the cultivators sitting in this area saw each other as competition. There were no kind looks between each other—at most there would be stiff smiles—but the smiles towards Fang Xing were extremely sincere. Perhaps they felt this person wasn’t enough to be any real threat to them, and the sense of superiority they felt could already be seen within their smiles.

“Is that any of your business?” Fang Xing cursed out. His annoyance from the sea-snake beast’s words hadn’t managed to settle yet.

The cultivator’s face froze and his cold smile began to contain anger. “Ehh… brother seems to be rather angry….”

“Am I not allowed to be angry?” Fang Xing revealed some of his mid-Foundation Stage cultivation and directly suppressed the cultivator. This placed the cultivator in a rather difficult position, but after he realized he wasn’t Fang Xing’s opponent, he let out a cold snort and turned around. The cultivator was not truly convinced, however, and quietly muttered to himself, “Pfft, what’s the use in having a high cultivation? It’s not like we’re competing with cultivation!”

This caused Fang Xing to feel even more annoyed, but even though he wanted to go scold him, he saw the sea-snake beast heading his way once again. Her face was still smiling, but the smile was filled with disdain and had the impression of not allowing anyone to complain. Her laughter was even more distasteful than before, and—purposefully or not—she swept her gaze across the little miss who was eating and chewing next to Fang Xing before she laughed and said, “This fellow Daoist, how shall we call you?”

Fang Xing didn’t know what she wanted, and his voice was filled with annoyance as he replied with a fake name, “Your little grandpa’s name is Fang Ritian ¹ . Any problems?”

“Pfff….”

Upon hearing this name, a large number of nearby people suddenly spat out their drinks in shock.