Chapter 146: Banter Among the Chief Elders. Matriarch Venomheart Arrives!
The three chief elders—Sun Yurong, Gu Zhi, and Gu Yen—hovered above the disciples as the Lotus Blossom Ark continued to float across the sea of clouds.
Gu Zhi's voice boomed, "Hu Meizhen!"
Startled, Hu Meizhen immediately turned and went on her knees, acting as innocent as a cat, and bowed her head. "Please forgive me, Chief Elder Gu!" she pleaded.
Gu Zhi admonished her, "You shouldn't dare to attack another disciple next time. The Fang Peak Killing Arts shouldn't be used to intimidate the young ones."
Wait, what?
Yang Wei thought, looking at Gu Zhi with a confused expression.
Gu Yen, who'd been knitting a small white scarf with a peaceful expression, looked perturbed at Gu Zhi's words. Pausing her knitting, she glanced at Gu Zhi and remarked, "But didn't you attack young Mingyu when she forgot to greet you?"
Sun Yurong nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do remember that vividly. Maybe that's why your disciples also misuse the power of Fang Peak Killing Arts." Clearly enjoying the opportunity to tease Gu Zhi and her disciples, Sun Yurong shrugged dramatically. "I guess if you don't train a disciple well, they'll just turn out to be as bad, impulsive and violent as their master."
She may not have mentioned any names, but it was easy for everyone to tell who she was referring to.
Infuriated, Gu Zhi turned to Sun Yurong and snapped, "Yurong, you bitch! You're taking things too far! It seems you just want to disgrace me in front of all the disciples present!"
Sun Yurong shook her head gently, feigning innocence. "Oh, no, I'd never dream of such a thing," she replied with a hand over her mouth to hide her urge to chuckle.
Gu Yen abruptly pointed her knitting needles at Gu Zhi and scolded her, "You shouldn't bully young Rong'er! She's simply speaking the truth. Maybe if you weren't always so bitter and violent, you'd have trained your disciples better."
Gu Zhi's eyebrows furrowed, her teeth gritted as she glared at her twin sister. Her once gremlin-like face now transformed into that of an aged, angry gargoyle. "Are you really going to side with this fat-chested, arrogant brat, Yen?!" she spat, jabbing her walking stick in Sun Yurong's direction.
"Fat-chested?!" Sun Yurong repeated with shock; as though it was offensive.
Gu Yen remained composed as she reiterated, "Yes, of course. And you shouldn't dare call Rong'er that word again, nor should you call her a bitch. Yurong is a decent, talented, and beautiful woman."
Almost in sync, Yang Wei and Sun Yurong nodded approvingly of her words.
Tightening her grip on her stick, Gu Zhi retorted, "To think my own sister wouldn't support me."
"Support you?" Gu Yen placed her hands on her cheeks and blushed, reminiscing, "When I was still in my younger days, I used to be as well-behaved as Rong'er. Looking at her now just makes me remember myself then."
Sun Yurong smiled at Gu Zhi and remarked, "Wow, you must've been so beautiful back in your prime."
Gu Yen nodded in agreement. "Yes, all the men were after me then, always seeking my attention."
"Tch!" Gu Zhi folded her arms and grunted, "All those useless men are dead now. They couldn't even cultivate properly enough to live longer."
Gu Yen intervened gently, "Now, now, let's not insult the dead..."
Gu Zhi squeezed her face and quipped, "That's their business. Maybe next time they shouldn't die so early."
Suddenly, everyone in the lotus sensed something—a strong surge of spiritual pressure hit them like a wave. Simultaneously, all three chief elders exclaimed, "Matriarch Venomheart!"
Around that time, a dark green cloud materialized above the entire Lotus Blossom Ark, causing thunderous rumbling sounds as it rapidly expanded to cover the entire ark. Then, it transformed into a beautiful, yet elderly woman. She resembled what Gu Zhi and Gu Yen envisioned for themselves if they reached the Nascent Soul realm early enough.
Standing at the center of the lotus, the energy emanating from her body was immense, to say the least. She wore a black robe adorned with white stripes and serpent designs, looking healthy and strong overall. Even her fleshy, bouncing breasts and shapely buttocks spoke to her vitality. Though her face remained calm, the spiritual pressure she exuded felt like a storm.
A few of the weaker disciples were already either slumped on the floor from the intense energy, or were on their knees. However, many of those who managed to withstand the spiritual pressure bowed their heads and greeted, "Greetings, Matriarch!"
Some weren't sure which matriarch this was, as they hadn't seen the head leaders of their sect before. However, the dressing, intense cultivation base, and the way this elderly woman carried herself were enough for them to recognize her as someone in charge.
The chief elders also bowed their heads respectfully to greet Matriarch Venomheart.
Gu Zhi and Gu Yen were trying their hardest to hide their excitement at seeing her again.
Matriarch Venomheart looked around and noticed that most of the disciples were exhausted or had already passed out. "What's the matter?" she asked sternly, her voice lacking any emotion.
Sun Yurong spoke up, "Matriarch, if I may, it seems your intense cultivation base may be too powerful for many of our disciples with weaker cultivation bases to withstand."
Only the ones from Spirit Gathering realm were able to stand on a knee.
Matriarch Venomheart nodded in understanding.
I've grown accustomed to life in the Celestial Serpent Sect, to the point where I've forgotten that nowadays, cultivators aren't as talented. Otherwise, they'd have studied the arts that enable them to develop stronger spiritual attunement and resist being dominated by another cultivator's cultivation base.
She swished her wide-open sleeves, closed her eyes, and sealed away a good portion of her spiritual aura, lessening the pressure everyone was experiencing. "I suppose that should be enough," she stated.
However, as she looked to the side, she noticed something unusual— one of their disciples was boldly standing, unaffected. It was Yang Wei, who stood there casually cleaning his nose.
Everyone, including the chief elders, was left in shock.
"EH?!"
Yang Wei realized everyone was looking at him and innocently asked, "Hm? Did I do something wrong?" He looked around, searching for answers.
.net
It was pretty straightforward to explain.
Matriarch Venomheart's spiritual aura was powerful, but to Yang Wei, it felt weak compared to what he was used to. Weak enough that he couldn't even notice a change in his environment, especially when he wasn't paying much attention.
As he looked around, he caught Sun Yurong's eye, who tried to signal to him "you shouldn't be standing there unaffected".
Eventually, Yang Wei caught on to what she was trying to convey and let out an exaggerated scream, "AHHHHH! It hurts... hurts so much that, that I am, umh, falling to the floor and screaming even louder... Ahhhhh!" He slowly dropped to the ground, using his arms to guide himself down so he wouldn't hurt himself.
"I am now rolling on the floor and screaming more!"
The acting was terrible, not because Yang Wei couldn't act, but because he just didn't care enough to put in much effort.
On the ground, he continued, "Oh no, my insides feel like they are burning, ahhhh, ahhhh, ahhh, so painful." His screams lacked any real emotion at this point, making it seem like a poorly scripted scene.
Sun Yurong sighed and shook her head in disappointment.
Meanwhile, Sun Yujing, Deng Rulan, and a few other disciples watched incredulously, witnessing what seemed like the worst acting performance in history. The only ones amused were Gu Zhi and Hu Meizhen, who both chuckled and exclaimed, "This is comedy gold!"
Matriarch Venomheart, on the other hand, watched with wide eyes, her expression heavily shocked.
What is she... trying to do...?