Eternal Sacred King Chapter 670 to 681
Eternal Sacred King Chapter 670
Chapter 670: Flames of the Soaring Serpent
More Rainbow Wolf Spiders started climbing up and spitting silk repeatedly, weaving layer over layer on that gigantic colorful cocoon.
There were also some Rainbow Wolf Spiders that stood all around, moving their eight legs to reel in the spiderweb.
That gigantic cocoon was shrinking continuously!
The remaining space Su Zimo had was decreasing!
In the cocoon, Su Zimo was expressionless. His Golden Core appeared gradually from the black hole in his dantian and started circulating.
A shuddering aura spread from within his body!
It was bright and scorching!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
In that instant, the earth and mountains shook!
Mountains toppled and the ground cracked, revealing an unsettling fissure.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
Volcano erupted as balls of scarlet lava surged from underground, forming a red sea that could even melt rocks!
The heat within the cocoon rose rapidly!
When the lava splashed onto the rainbow spiderweb, wisps of green smoke rose instantly.
Although the spiderweb was burned and its light dimmed, it did not break!
When he sensed what was happening inside, the colorful-robed man’s pupils constricted and his expression changed slightly.
The silk of the Rainbow Wolf Spider was indeed a counter to most spirit weapons.
However, there was always a counter to everything and the greatest nemesis to the silk was fire!
Thankfully, the Rainbow Wolf Spiders were royalty of the spider race and had powerful bloodlines. They cultivated unique cultivation techniques that made their silk exceptionally tenacious such that it could defend against most fire.
If it was any other spider, the cocoon would have been burned into ashes by the flames a long time ago!
When he saw that the cocoon was merely charred without any lethal damage, the colorful-robed man heaved a sigh of relief and sneered, “You want to burn the silk of Rainbow Wolf Spiders using that level of flames? You must be dreaming!”
Although he said that, the colorful-robed man was in cold sweat moments earlier!
In the cultivation world, Rainbow Wolf Spiders feared cultivators of a few super sects.
For example, of the six Buddhist monasteries, monks of Dapamkara Monastery cultivate a ball of True Fire in their bodies at the start of their cultivation paths. It was extremely strong and illuminated their organs, igniting their spirits.
If a Rainbow Wolf Spider got into contact with the True Fire of a Dapamkara Monastery monk, it could be severely injured or even burned into ashes!
Suddenly, the colorful-robed man’s expression changed.
He could sense that the temperature in the cocoon was rising at a scary speed and was not at its limits yet!
From a fissure in the ground, a menacing head stuck out with a frightening aura. It had the head of a snake, the body of an anaconda and was scarlet red all over its body!
Its scales were stacked on top of one another tightly with no gaps, burning with a thin layer of flames.
Swoosh!
The living being rose with a single leap and a pair of scarlet wings blazing with flames burst forth from its back!
With each flap, a heatwave would be sent forth.
The eyes of the colorful-robed man widened as he murmured, “Snake head, anaconda body, dragon scales, phoenix wings, no horns above its head or limbs beneath its abdomen. This is...”
A memory that was embedded deep in its bloodline gradually came to mind.
“Soaring Serpent!”
The colorful-robed man exclaimed in shock.
Deep in its soul, there was a fear that stemmed from the primordial era, causing it to shiver uncontrollably.
The Spirit Fire was a divine being of the flames in the primordial era and was not inferior to phoenixes in reputation!
However, that frightening living being had gone extinct a long time ago in the primordial era.
It could be considered as the greatest nemesis for the Rainbow Wolf Spiders!
Or rather, in the primordial era, that golden era where the ten thousand races ruled, the Rainbow Wolf Spider race was nothing in the eyes of the Soaring Serpents.
The colorful-robed man truly had not imagined that Su Zimo would be able to summon this primordial divine being!
The temperature in the cocoon continued rising!
Standing in the blazing flames, Su Zimo’s hair danced. His aura was torrential as he stood in the scarlet lava with electric eyes!
The figure of the Primordial Soaring Serpent rose continuously behind him.
It was an extremely shocking sight!
Many Rainbow Wolf Spiders stood rooted to the spot and did not escape immediately.
When it sensed that it was being restricted, the Soaring Serpent twisted its head and surveyed the surroundings. Its cold eyes contained an endless ferocity and fury as it reared its head and hissed with its darting tongue!
It was a divine being of the flames with a noble bloodline.
In the primordial era, the Rainbow Wolf Spiders were no different than ants to it.
Now that thousands of years had passed and it was reborn, there was no way it was going to be insulted by such bugs!
Psst! Psst! Psst!
The Primordial Soaring Serpent flapped its blazing wings and fire spewed from its eyes as it opened its gigantic mouth to spit out streams of scorching red lava!
The lava that came from the mouth of the Primordial Soaring Serpent was much scarier than the lava flowing underground!
Swoosh!
The gigantic cocoon burst into flames instantly!
“Ah!”
Su Zimo tore into the air, rearing his head as he howled!
The Rainbow Wolf Spiders that were climbing on the cocoon were unable to escape at all, screeching terribly as they were engulfed in the sea of flames.
Those flames were absolutely destructive for them!
In the blink of an eye, the cocoon turned into ashes.
The flames spread and blazed through the vast lands – a few hundred Rainbow Wolf Spiders perished in the sea of flames without any corpses left!
Even if any Rainbow Wolf Spider escaped from the sea of flames, a single spark that landed on them was enough to burn them completely!
That was the terror of the Soaring Serpent flames!
“GRAWR!”
“Roar!”
The lava surged and extended underground thousands of kilometers.
The entire beast stampede went into chaos, howling constantly as everyone escaped in fear of being burned by the scarlet lava.
The Soaring Serpent was sentient and flew with the flames to hunt after the remaining Rainbow Wolf Spiders.
Su Zimo shifted his gaze and glared at the colorful-robed man who was running. Instantly, he chased after the latter!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider was the culprit behind little crane’s sufferings!
Sticking close to the ground, the colorful-robed man scurried extremely swiftly with his eight limbs, fleeing into the distance with dust clouds in his wake.
“Mmm? You’re still trying to escape?”
Su Zimo narrowed his eyes.
Splash!
His blood qi exploded and spirit energy burst forth!
Swoosh!
At the same time, a pair of wings appeared behind Su Zimo, raising his speed to its limits. He vanished from the spot, bolting forward like an arrow!
The colorful-robed man did not dare to stop at all, scurrying for his life with all eight limbs flaying.
Thankfully, the Rainbow Wolf Spiders were nimble and had swift movement techniques – most demon beasts won’t be able to catch up to them if they truly wanted to escape.
Right then, a buzzing sound echoed in the colorful-robed man’s ears.
It was as though something was closing in rapidly!
The colorful-robed man turned around.
That single glanced scared him out of his wits.
The green-robed cultivator was not far behind him, looking murderous with a cold gaze!
Furthermore, the distance between them was decreasing rapidly!
If this continued, he would be caught within 10 breaths!
Suddenly, the colorful-robed man stopped in his tracks and his body shrank repeatedly, turning into a spider the size of a palm. Digging with eight limbs, he burrowed himself into the ground and vanished!
Chapter 671: I’ll Break Your Eight Legs!
“Hmm?”
Su Zimo’s gaze turned cold. “Trying to burrow away?”
The Rainbow Wolf Spiders naturally had means that were superior to others for them to be able to survive from the primordial era, or they would have gone extinct a long time ago as well.
It was a demonic technique that was comparable to ground burrowing.
By shrinking themselves, Rainbow Wolf Spiders could enter the mud and travel through the cramped gaps underground at an extremely fast speed.
In a short period of time, they could escape more than a hundred feet away!
The troublesome thing was that Rainbow Wolf Spiders glided with their legs in the gaps in the mud and caused extremely small vibrations that were almost silent – it was extremely difficult for living beings on the surface to detect them!
Furthermore, there were many tiny bugs in the mud.
The sound released by those bugs crawling was enough to cover the tracks of the Rainbow Wolf Spider completely!
The only way to detect the Rainbow Wolf Spider was for a Nascent Soul to arrive and release their spirit consciousness.
Su Zimo stood on the spot motionlessly and suddenly closed his eyes.
He seemed to have entered a trance and the sound of bugs, ants and wind around him was filtered completely!
Universal hearing!
Su Zimo’s senses were way too sharp after cultivating the Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness!
Although he did not have an Essence Spirit, he could sense everything by opening up his five senses and a clear image formed in his mind.
Three foot and seven inches underground, there was a spider the size of a fingernail scurrying and it was 280 feet away!
“Humph!”
Su Zimo opened his eyes and a streak of lightning flashed through them.
Swash!
Su Zimo had already vanished from where he was.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived above the Rainbow Wolf Spider.
Conjuring a hand seal, Su Zimo’s fingertips shuttled with an unusual movement. Eventually, a gigantic palm was conjured and blanketed over the path that the Rainbow Wolf Spider was escaping on!
“Ma!”
At the same time, Su Zimo opened his mouth and said a word in Sanskrit!
The Demon Subduing Seal was released together with the Daming Mantra!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider that was initially scurrying through the mud shuddered.
Boom!
A massive palm descended from above with an apocalyptic might that threatened to subdue everything in its way!
The massive palm had yet to touch the ground.
However, a gigantic handprint had already appeared in the ground deeply embedded into the mud!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider was instantly exposed and it could no longer hide.
“Human, how are you try to kill me!”
The Rainbow Wolf Spider shouted, “There’s a Demon Emperor in the Rainbow Wolf Spider race, do you wish to die?!”
“Demon Emperor?”
Su Zimo sneered, “Do you think someone of the Demon Emperor’s level will stand out for a puny spirit demon like you? Furthermore, we’re in the ancient battlefield!”
“Here, I’m the emperor!”
The moment he said that, the world shook!
Who would dare to say something like that?
A torrential aura surged from Su Zimo and the power of the Demon Subduing Seal intensified before crushing down!
“Scree!”
The Rainbow Wolf Spider knew that it couldn’t escape and screeched shrilly. The blood qi in its body surged rapidly and it grew to the size of a hundred feet in the blink of an eye!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of rainbow silk threads shot out from its abdomen towards the palm in the sky.
The poison in the silk was extremely domineering and instantly corroded the palm that was formed from the Demon Subduing Seal with a sizzling sound. The palm’s spirit light flickered and its power diminished.
Exerting strength in all eight legs, the Rainbow Wolf Spider bounced and took the Demon Subduing Seal in midair head-on.
Boom!
There was a deafening sound.
The Demon Subduing Seal dispersed.
The Rainbow Wolf Spider fell heavily to the ground, creating a huge dent. It was injured all over and one of its legs was snapped, oozing with green blood that stank.
“Not bad,”
Su Zimo nodded. “You’re rather capable to be able to take on my Demon Subduing Seal.”
The Rainbow Wolf Spider struggled and crawled out of the pit, charging towards Su Zimo with bloodshot eyes and a menacing expression.
Its remaining seven legs were like sharp spears that were laced with poison.
There were even reverse spikes on the surface of the spider legs.
If they thrust into the flesh, they would pull out a huge chunk of flesh upon extraction, leaving behind a bloody hole!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider looked down from above and thrust its legs in a flurry towards Su Zimo’s head!
Su Zimo’s gaze was cold and Blood Quencher that was in his hands buzzed.
Clang! Clang!
Its blood beam expanded!
Releasing a movement technique, Su Zimo shuttled through the chaotic spear shadows and circulated his blood qi. Wielding Blood Quencher, he slashed viciously at the critical joints of the Rainbow Wolf Spider’s legs!
“Pfft!”
Green, oily blood spewed out.
Three spider legs were sliced off by Su Zimo!
Apart from the spiderweb, another weapon for the Rainbow Wolf Spiders was their legs that could go against perfect-grade spirit weapons.
However, Su Zimo’s attacks were targeted at the joints of the legs where they were weakest.
Coupled with the sharpness of Blood Quencher, a single slash severed three of the Rainbow Wolf Spider’s legs!
“Ah! Ah! Ahhhh!”
The Rainbow Wolf Spider let out a heart-wrenching scream.
“Since you drank her blood, I’m going to break all eight of your legs!”
There was no pity in Su Zimo’s cold eyes.
He was indebted to the old immortal crane of Ethereal Peak and little crane had accompanied him for a long time in his cave abode.
Su Zimo regarded monkey, the spirit tiger and little crane as his kin a long time ago.
If he hadn’t returned earlier on, little crane would have been doomed to eternal damnation if she was brought away by the Rainbow Wolf Spider!
At that time, he would be immensely remorseful as well.
The thought of that gave Su Zimo a sense of trepidation.
Pshew! Pshew!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider had four legs remaining that were intact and could support its body.
“Break!”
Suddenly, it screamed and broke off two of its legs, turning them into long spears that shot towards Su Zimo at an extremely fast speed!
“Puny tricks.”
Su Zimo sneered and swung Blood Quencher in reverse, sweeping around gently like a Ripple to send the two spider legs flying!
The Rainbow Wolf Spider was completely despondent.
The killing moves that it used to dominate over the demon region were worthless in the face of this human!
How could such a terrifying monster incarnate exist in the human race?
Before that thought was finished, the Rainbow Wolf Spider’s eyes blurred with a flash of green robes.
Before it could react, a sharp pain surged through its body and its remaining two legs were severed!
Thump!
Without any support, the Rainbow Wolf Spider fell onto the ground.
Due to the immense blood loss, its body shrank continuously and became the size of a human before long.
Slumped in the mud, the Rainbow Wolf Spider glared at Su Zimo with a venomous gaze.
Su Zimo took out a rope from his storage bag and tossed it at the Rainbow Wolf Spider’s body. Instantly, it coiled itself around the latter.
After the battle at the ancient city, he had gathered tens of thousands of storage bags.
There were way too many spirit weapons in his storage bag now and he could casually pull out a supreme-grade spirit weapon at any moment!
“I’ll leave your life for little crane!”
Su Zimo dragged the Rainbow Wolf Spider and sped back where he came from.
Chapter 672: Bi Fang Bloodline
The battlefield had gone silent, leaving behind nothing but charred land.
The Soaring Serpent flew into the air spraying lava wildly and incinerating everything within five hundred kilometers. The Rainbow Wolf Spiders were not the only ones suppressed by its aura as a divine being, but other demon beasts as well.
Most of the Rainbow Wolf Spiders were already burned to death.
The remaining demon beasts broke free of the Rainbow Wolf Spiders’ control and fled one after another.
The retreat of the beast stampede left nothing but a pile of carcasses and bones on the ground, some of them torn and still fuming with smoke.
Monkey, the spirit tiger and Golden Lion were filled with injuries all over and panted heavily.
“Thank you, monkey and spirit tiger.”
Little crane spoke in human tongue and rubbed against monkey and the spirit tiger’s cheeks with her long beak.
“It’s nothing,”
Monkey grinned and waved it off, pointing to the spirit tiger at the side. “This perverted tiger was the first to notice that something was off and mumbled the entire journey. That was when we noticed what was amiss.”
The spirit tiger’s heart was pounding furiously in happiness when it felt the little crane’s intimate act.
However, at the mention of ‘perverted tiger’ from monkey, the spirit tiger’s expression turned awkward and it coughed twice to divert little crane’s expression.
Little crane was a little confused.
Monkey snickered.
Both the Golden Lion and little fox knew the reason for that and grinned secretly.
Patting itself on the chest, the spirit tiger said, “Although I’ve never seen you in your human form before, I recognized you right away when I saw your huge, beautiful eyes!”
“Hmph, since when did you stare at her eyes? You were looking at her long legs the entire time!” Monkey pouted and grumbled softly.
Glaring at monkey, the spirit tiger said hurriedly, “Don’t listen to his nonsense, little crane!”
The spirit tiger looked deeply at the little crane to build up the mood, as though there was something it wanted to say.
After a long time, just when the little crane was starting to get creeped out, the spirit tiger yelled, “Ah!”
The Golden Lion and little fox were caught unaware and jolted in shock, looking at the spirit tiger in confusion, unsure what it was up to.
Monkey rolled its eyes.
The spirit tiger continued, “Ah, your eyes are so beautiful and pretty, like the stars and the moon and the sun and the... erm...”
The Golden Lion frowned.
The little fox went blank.
Monkey was dumbfounded, as though it was struck by lightning.
Was the spirit tiger making a poem?!
Notwithstanding how lousy the poem was, it was stuck halfway while composing it?!
Monkey reached out and wanted to send the spirit tiger flying with a slap.
However, it truly could not muster up strength after the massive battle earlier on. Monkey could only sigh and turn away, hiding its face.
It truly did not wish to look at the spirit tiger and looked down on the latter from the depths of its heart.
With an embarrassed expression, the spirit tiger scratched its head and was struck by inspiration, yelling, “Like a huge gemstone deep in the ocean!”
The spirit tiger shrugged its head smugly and smiled to itself foolishly.
In its opinion, that final statement was the vital finishing touch to make everything perfect!
Little crane felt chills run down her spine and could not help but shudder.
“What do you think, little crane?”
The spirit tiger closed in and licked its own face, asking.
Glaring at the spirit tiger, little crane asked coldly, “Are you in heat?”
“Pfft!”
The little fox could not help but burst into laughter.
Monkey and the Golden Lion snickered wildly at the side, beaming as well.
The spirit tiger had not expected little crane to be so sharp and direct with her words. Unable to take it at all, its face flushed red and it was thoroughly embarrassed, wanting nothing more than to find a hole to bury itself.
Right then, a person flew through the air from the distant skies.
He dragged a long rope tied to a spider with eight legs severed – it was the true form of the colorful-robed man!
Little crane’s eyes were filled with endless hatred and her body shivered in rage.
“Are you guys alright?”
Descending before everyone, Su Zimo took out bottles of elixirs from his storage bag. No matter what was required, internal or external application, there was something.
Right now, he was in no lack of such items.
Monkey and the spirit tiger applied medicine silently while taking care of little crane.
Charging right in front of the colorful-robed man, little crane extended her feet and stomped on the man’s body, questioning, “You said that you once saw a man that resembled me in the Thousand Spider Sand Dune! Was that for real?”
The colorful-robed man was severely injured to begin with. Now that little crane stomped on him, his internal organs were shocked as he coughed out a mouthful of blood and panted. “Of course it’s real!”
Little crane asked hurriedly with an agitated expression, “Where is he?”
“That Bi Fang was your father?”
Now that he knew he was dead for the sure, the colorful-robed man mocked gloatingly. “Unfortunately, you’ll never see him ever again. He died a long time ago! Hahaha!”
Little crane’s body shuddered and her face turned frightfully pale.
Su Zimo furrowed his brows slightly.
Bi Fangs were ferocious birds of the primordial era and were extremely fierce. With the ability to manipulate fire, they were one of the fiercest species of ferocious birds.
However, the phoenix race was way too terrifying and reigned supreme over the ferocious birds while manipulating fire at the same time – as such, the Bi Fang was not as well known.
However, in reality, the true strength of a Bi Fang was comparable to the divine being of the flames, Soaring Serpent!
Early on, Su Zimo had already noticed that little crane looked different from ordinary immortal cranes.
Ordinary immortal cranes had vermilion crowns and snow-white bodies. However, little crane’s body also had jade-green feathers that were extremely beautiful.
Everything would make sense if she had the bloodline of Bi Fangs running in her.
After all, Bi Fangs were jade-green in color!
Su Zimo lamented internally, “No wonder I’ve never seen little crane’s father or heard the old immortal crane mention it. So, he died a long time ago.”
“I don’t believe you!”
Little crane shook her head repeatedly and glared at the colorful-robed man, saying with a quivering voice, “Y-You are lying, am I right?”
“Lying?”
The colorful-robed man laughed bitterly. “Your father had a death wish barging into the Thousand Spider Sand Dune thinking that he was strong! The Rainbow Wolf Spider sucked his blood dry a long time ago! We ate his flesh and drank his blood to cultivate, hahaha!”
Little crane had a weakened blood qi to begin with. Upon receiving this blow, her vision darkened and her head spun.
“Sister Little Crane!”
Little fox rushed up to support little crane.
Bang!
Suddenly, a slap landed on the back of the colorful-robed man’s head, splitting it into pieces as brain juice flowed on the ground.
Shrugging his palm, the spirit tiger grumbled, “Annoying! How dare you continue laughing when your laughter sounds so disgusting? I’ve had it with you!”
Su Zimo heaved out a sigh of relief.
He could tell that the spirit tiger did that because it did not want little crane to get agitated further.
In truth, he was about to attack even if the spirit tiger did not do it!
It was clear that the colorful-robed man meant to trigger little crane as much as it could, seeing that it wasn’t going to survive!
Su Zimo patted little crane gently on the shoulder and consoled her, “Don’t think too much. This spider was clearly spouting nonsense upon knowing that it was about to die. Things might not be as you’re imagining it to be.”
Little crane nodded, but the sorrow and misery in her eyes could not be concealed.
Chapter 673: Nian Qi’s Location
Sensing the sadness in little crane’s heart, the spirit tiger scratched its ears and cheeks. It wanted to help her share the load, but did not know what to say.
Nobody knew how to console her for something as such.
The atmosphere turned heavy.
Looking at Su Zimo, the spirit tiger hoped that he would say something.
After pondering for a moment, Su Zimo decided to distract little crane. “Little crane, how did you enter the intermediate ancient battlefield?”
Although the old immortal crane had broken through 20 years ago into a high-level fiend demon that was equivalent to the Dharma Characteristic realm of humans, it was probably impossible for her to open up a teleportation point to the intermediate ancient battlefield singlehandedly.
As though she called something, little crane’s expression changed all of a sudden and she turned into her human form. She grabbed Su Zimo’s arm and said anxiously, “Save Nian Qi! Think of a way to save Nian Qi!”
“Hmm?”
Su Zimo’s heart sank and he took a deep breath. “What happened? Calm down and speak slowly.”
Nian Qi was the small girl that he ‘picked up’ in the capital of Great Zhou and she contained many secrets in her body.
For example, Nian Qi was already incredibly strong before she cultivated.
Also, Nian Qi did not seem to age.
Or rather, time seemed like it passed extremely slowly for her.
This meant that Nian Qi’s lifespan was much longer than anyone else of the same level!
Even so, Su Zimo had no doubts towards Nian Qi.
Everyone had secrets.
Furthermore, she was only a child and had a pure heart. Be it to him or Ethereal Peak, she carried no evil intentions.
She fought with all her might for the battle at Ethereal Peak and almost died – it was clear that she had already regarded Ethereal Peak as her home.
Little crane replied, “An old patriarch of the Great Zhou Dynasty appeared and took the initiative to look mother up with the intention of opening a teleportation spot together.”
“The patriarch was a Dharma Characteristic, but his blood qi has deteriorated and his lifespan is about to end. That was why he decided to use a secret skill to burn up the last of his lifespan and release a burst together with mother to open up a teleportation spot.”
“However, the teleportation tunnel was extremely cramped and only two people can be teleported. The patriarch of Great Zhou gave both spots to Ethereal Peak.”
When he heard that, Su Zimo raised his brow.
That action was equivalent to sacrificing his life to give a great gift to Ethereal Peak!
The patriarch of Great Zhou must have a motive for doing that!
Little crane continued, “The patriarch of Great Zhou knew that his life was about to end and was worried that a calamity would befall the Great Zhou Dynasty after his demise. As such, he wanted to use this gift in exchange for the protection of mother and Ethereal Peak.”
In the battle at Ethereal Peak, the other four major sects suffered immense losses and their Void Reversions perished.
Although Ethereal Peak suffered immense losses as well, its surviving disciples had great potential for the future!
Furthermore, the old immortal crane managed to extend her life with that battle and advanced to the Dharma Characteristic realm. She broke free of the restraints of Heaven and Earth and freed herself from the threat of her demise with an extension of her lifespan.
With that, Ethereal Peak became the leader of the five major sects instantly!
Its strength surpassed the other four major sects firmly and there were more and more cultivators that wanted to join the sect.
In the past 20 years, Ethereal Peak turned into the true number one sect of Great Zhou!
It was not hard to understand why the patriarch of Great Zhou made that decision.
Little crane looked at Su Zimo and continued, “Mother told me that part of the reason why the Emperor of Great Zhou left the throne to Ji Yaoxue was because of your potential. At the same time, it was also because of her relationship with you as well as the fact that Ethereal Peak was backing you.”
Su Zimo nodded.
This was something he had guessed as well.
According to customs, the throne was passed down to the sons in order of seniority – no matter what, Ji Yaoxue would not have inherited it.
Furthermore, she was a female.
Finally, despite the unrest and internal and external strife in Great Zhou for the past 20 years after the throne was passed down to Ji Yaoxue, she was not removed from position – that was definitely not a decision made by the Emperor of Great Zhou alone.
So, the patriarch of Great Zhou also backed the idea!
With that, everything made sense.
This patriarch of Great Zhou had planned a long time ahead.
Furthermore, he made the right gamble.
The fact that the old immortal crane sent little crane here meant that they had agreed on the deal!
Although he was dead, he paved the way for Great Zhou before his demise with the protection of an expert at Dharma Characteristic realm.
From there on, it was no longer up to his control how Great Zhou would grow in the future.
A thought struck Su Zimo as he asked, “Old immortal crane sent you and Nian Qi in here with those two spots?”
“Yes,”
Little crane nodded. “Many cultivators joined Ethereal Peak and the strength of the sect has grown. However, there are issues as well. We no longer have enough elixirs, weapons or cultivation techniques to supply them.”
“Both mother and the sect master looked highly forward to the opening of the ancient battlefield, hoping to use this opportunity to strengthen our sect’s foundation.”
“Although Nian Qi joined the sect pretty late, she is already the number one of the Golden Core realm in our sect right now! In fact, the sect master said that she might be comparable to you!”
“Mother also mentioned that Nian Qi’s Golden Core phenomenon has a chance of making it to the top ten of the Phenomenon Ranking!”
Su Zimo’s eyes lit up.
He was surprised enough at the fact that she might be able to make it to the top ten of the Phenomenon Ranking.
Sect Master Ling Yun was already at Void Reversion realm and both he and the old immortal crane were wise and sharp. The fact that they gave Nian Qi such a high evaluation was proof of her strength!
Of course, neither the old immortal crane nor Sect Master Ling Yun knew of Su Zimo’s true strength after he laid dormant for 20 years at the bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley.
Nobody had witnessed it as well.
As though she recalled something, little crane’s eyes were filled with fear. “Not long after we entered the ancient battlefield, we came across a group of seven! There were six men and one woman!”
“The seven of them were extremely strong! Extremely, extremely strong!”
Little crane emphasized continuously – it was clear how much of a blow it was for her!
“The group of them looked down on everything with a cold, arrogant indifference. However, something was off the moment they caught sight of Nian Qi.”
“Nian Qi’s expression turned terrible as well the moment we saw them. At that time, we were holding hands and her palm went ice-cold right away, filled with sweat.”
Su Zimo and the others could not help but feel anxious at this point.
Little crane continued, “Thereafter, the seven of them had odd expressions and walked towards us, looking at Nian Qi with fake smiles. Nian Qi told me not to ask about anything and just run before rushing to them.”
After pausing for a moment, little crane gulped. “The moment Nian Qi rushed up, she released her Golden Core phenomenon. However, it was shattered by a single punch from the leader of the opposing group!”
“Ah!”
Little fox exclaimed.
Narrowing his gaze, Su Zimo asked, “He destroyed Nian Qi’s Golden Core phenomenon with a single punch?”
“Yes!”
Little fox nodded with conviction.
Su Zimo’s expression turned grim.
According to the old immortal crane, Nian Qi’s Golden Core phenomenon had a chance of making it to the top ten of the Phenomenon Ranking.
In other words, her Golden Core phenomenon was definitely not weaker than his Soaring Serpent and Divine Turtle!
However, such a terrifying Golden Core phenomenon was shattered by a single punch!
Su Zimo was secretly shocked.
Even he might not be capable of releasing such a powerful burst!
Suddenly, Su Zimo realized that the ancient battlefield this time round might be much scarier than he had imagined it to be!
Chapter 674: Sworn Siblings
“Nian Qi did not manage to last three moves against that person. At that time, I was scared out of my wits and my mind was filled with nothing but Nian Qi’s voice asking me to escape.”
Little crane’s eyes were filled with guilt and self-blame as she said with a slumped head, “I know that I’m very weak for not choosing to fight alongside Nian Qi. However, I truly could not muster any courage in the face of those people.”
“The only thought on my mind as I escaped frantically was to look for you and inform you about this! However, I did not escape far before I landed in the hands of the Rainbow Wolf Spiders.”
The spirit tiger consoled hurriedly, “It’s not your fault. You can’t defeat them either. I would have escaped too if I was in your shoes.”
Su Zimo patted little crane on the back of her palm. “You did the right thing. If you fought those people recklessly, you would have only lost your life for nothing.”
“Furthermore, it’s lucky that you escaped. Otherwise, I would not have found out what happened to you guys either.”
Little crane’s expression was slightly relieved.
After a moment of silence, Su Zimo asked, “Did they hurt Nian Qi?”
“No.”
Little crane shook her head. “Their leader merely wanted to capture Nian Qi alive. He mentioned something about returning to the elders for punishment but I didn’t hear anything more,”
At that point, little crane sighed again. “The reason why I escaped wasn’t because they couldn’t catch up to me. It was because they could not be bothered with me at all. I’ll never forget the way they looked at me, it was as though I was an ant.”
Who would care about letting an ant go?
Su Zimo pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “What did they look like?”
Little crane replied, “The seven of them wore extremely ancient costumes. All of them had golden hair, blue eyes, straight, high noses and were extremely good-looking. It’s easy to recognize them.”
The mention of that had Su Zimo’s heart skipping a beat.
Nian Qi’s appearance did resemble them somewhat.
In the battle at Ethereal Peak, Nian Qi once released her potential in a moment of desperation and her strength exploded.
Her initially withered yellow hair turned straight and danced with a golden shade as well. Her eyes were blue and her aura was peerless, resembling a dignified divine being!
Nian Qi’s background definitely had something to do with these guys!
However, Su Zimo could not identify where they were from exactly.
He had a vague guess in his heart.
“Judging from their behavior, I don’t think Nian Qi’s life is in danger for the time being,”
Su Zimo looked at the worried little crane and said gently, “Don’t worry, leave this to me.”
“Yes,”
Little crane nodded.
If there was anybody in the ancient battlefield who could save Nian Qi, it would have to be Su Zimo.
“Let’s leave this place first and look elsewhere to rest,”
Monkey, the spirit tiger and Golden Lion were injured. Although they consumed quite a bit of elixirs, it would take them a few days to recover completely.
For the next few days, Su Zimo and the others did not rush to travel and rested in a cave.
They were already in the ancient battlefield for more than a month.
The rich spirit qi coupled with the massive battle and fights they encountered trigged Su Zimo’s Golden Core realm – he finally sensed the opportunity for a breakthrough!
In his dantian, a golden dazzling core revolved slowly above the Saraca Flower.
The Golden Core’s aura was slightly complicated.
It had the aura of immortals as well as fiends.
The two auras were supposed to oppose one another. However, there was an aura of the Buddhist sects in the Golden Core that created a harmony to combine the immortal and fiend auras completely.
Su Zimo assumed a lotus position with his eyes closed and his black hair danced on its own.
On the left, water mists rose and the phantom of a Divine Turtle appeared.
On the right, flames blazed and the phantom of a Soaring Serpent descended.
Gradually, as time passed, the aura within Su Zimo’s body intensified.
It continued until... fire and water fused and the turtle and serpent intertwined!
The entire void quaked for a moment!
A shuddering aura emanated from Su Zimo’s body, spreading through the hole like a ripple.
Monkey and the others were alarmed and ran outside, watching from the entrance of the cave.
Everywhere the ripple extended, rocks and sand disintegrated into emptiness!
It was as though the entire cave was sliced by a sharp knife!
Bang! Boom! Boom!
The mountain itself trembled.
The mountains were tumbling and the ground was disintegrating!
Boom!
There seemed to be a loud explosion within Su Zimo’s body.
Two divine lights appeared in the cave.
Su Zimo opened his eyes and jolted upright, roaring into the skies!
His roar was resounding and penetrated metal and rock!
Right in front of monkey and the others, an air current exited from Su Zimo’s mouth like a flying sword, bursting the ceiling above!
His breath was like a sword!
That level was beyond the limits of a Golden Core!
Success!
At this point, Su Zimo was at perfected Golden Core!
A step further and he would advance into Nascent Soul realm, cultivating the legendary Essence Spirit and gaining control of Dharmic powers!
His cultivation speed was not considered as the best.
However, given the fact that he could reach this stage with his immortality and demonic cultivation, it was quite a rare feat.
Su Zimo’s Golden Core faded gradually. He reined in his aura and tranquility returned to the cave.
Monkey and the others had also attained breakthroughs in their cultivation realms in the past few days and were almost all at perfected Inner Core realm.
The flesh they consumed by being with Su Zimo was filled with the richest lifeforce essences. Coupled with the countless elixirs, it was only logical that they would reach this stage of cultivation.
Little crane was still slightly dejected for the past few days.
It wasn’t merely out of concern for Nian Qi. More than that, it was also the news of her kin’s demise.
Su Zimo could empathize with her emotions.
The spirit tiger accompanied little crane day and night, trying his best to come up with ways to cheer her up but to no avail.
This day, the spirit tiger seemed to have thought of something and rushed in front of everyone excitedly, yelling, “Hey, hey! I’ve got a suggestion...”
After a brief pause, the spirit tiger took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Let’s become sworn siblings.”
“Sworn siblings?”
Monkey’s eyes lit up.
The group of them had an extremely deep relationship to begin with.
Although the Golden Lion and little fox joined later on, they had already integrated themselves into the group with their recent interactions.
Furthermore, be it little fox or the Golden Lion, both of them had gained everyone’s acknowledgment after the battle at the ancient city.
The Golden Lion was naturally delighted.
Little fox was not going to decline.
She had even more reason to follow along Su Zimo after being sworn siblings.
When she heard that, little crane perked up and there was a little more life in the way she looked at monkey, the spirit tiger and everyone else.
Su Zimo nodded silently.
Although the spirit tiger seemed crude and brutish, this was a decent suggestion.
The reason why little crane was upset was because she had lost a kin. But after they become sworn siblings, she would gain a few more kin!
After pondering for a moment, monkey looked at Su Zimo and said with slight hesitance, “Don’t join in. You’re a human after all. If you become sworn siblings with us, you’ll definitely get into trouble in the future.”
“Hahahaha!”
Su Zimo roared into laughter. “Monkey, do I look like someone so cowardly? It’s true that I’m a human, but I insist on being sworn siblings with you guys. No matter the amount of trouble, I’ll take it all on!”
“Alright, let’s do it then!”
Monkey was invigorated as well.
“Sure!”
The spirit tiger cheered.
At that moment, no one realized that this seemingly casual ceremony of being sworn siblings in a corner of the ancient battlefield would end up dictating the state of Tianhuang Mainland’s future to a certain degree!
Chapter 675: Seven Brothers
As monkey mentioned, Su Zimo would not be able to explain things for the rest of his life if he became sworn brothers with them.
However, Su Zimo did not care!
The reason why he cultivated was so that he could do as he wished – how could he be restricted by the confines of moral guidelines or the different ideals of immortals and fiends?
If he wanted to establish a Dao, he must possess the boldness to break free of all restraints and rules!
The spirit tiger said, “We should add someone else although he’s not here with us right now.”
Little crane asked, “Little Night Spirit, right?”
The spirit tiger nodded hurriedly and wagged its tail, praising, “You sure are smart, little crane.”
Little crane blushed slightly and extended her leg, kicking the spirit tiger. “After forming my Inner Core, my mother gave me a name. I’m now called Qing Qing[1].”
Little crane possessed the bloodline of the Bi Fangs and looked different from other immortal cranes with a tinge of jade-green in her feathers – the name was fitting.
Little fox called out obediently, “Sister Qing Qing.”
“Yes,”
Qing Qing nodded and hugged little fox.
Although this was the first time they met one another, they were already close as sisters after these few days of interaction.
“Who is this Little Night Spirit?”
Little fox asked curiously.
A reminiscent look flashed through Su Zimo’s eyes as he replied sadly, “It was a little beast that I picked up in Cang Lang Mountain Range more than 20 years ago. It should have grown up by now.”
At the mention of Night Spirit, monkey, the spirit tiger and little crane let out looks of concern.
After all, the few of them witnessed Night Spirit’s birth and growth in Ethereal Peak back then.
Night Spirit was picky with food and would not touch the flesh of ordinary demon beasts.
In order to feed Night Spirit, monkey, the spirit tiger and little crane fought through the jungle and sustained injuries all over to obtain different flesh so that Night Spirit could taste them all.
Although that period of time was tough and dangerous, they were ecstatic as they looked at Night Spirit grow bit by bit.
It felt like everything was worth it!
Night Spirit was well-behaved the moment he was born and knew who was good to him.
His fangs and claws were extremely sharp but he had never bared them to monkey, the spirit tiger and little crane.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that cub. I wonder how he’s like now that he’s grown up. Does he still remember us?” Monkey was in a rare emotional state.
Ever since what happened in Dongling Valley and Su Zimo and Night Spirit fled far away into the capital of Great Zhou, monkey and the others had not seen Night Spirit.
In the blink of an eye, more than 20 years had passed.
Su Zimo gazed into the distance and murmured, “20 years ago, Night Spirit accompanied Xiaoning to Elixir Yang Sect in the Middle Continent. I wonder if we’ll get to meet them again this time round in the intermediate ancient battlefield.”
“There should be no issues including Night Spirit with us, right?” The spirit tiger asked.
Monkey and Qing Qing nodded.
There was naturally no way little fox would object to it – she was satisfied as long as Su Zimo was inside.
The Golden Lion was a little confused and did not know what Night Spirit was. However, he shrugged to express that he was fine with it since everyone agreed to it.
The spirit tiger shifted his gaze and coughed gently. “Since we’re swearing to be siblings, we should talk about seniority. If we make that clear, we can’t change that in the future, right?”
Monkey scoffed coldly as he saw through the spirit tiger’s intentions right away. “Why, you want to be the boss?”
“N-N-No!”
The spirit tiger shuddered in shock and waved it off immediately with a sheepish smile. “No way! Even if I thought that way, I wouldn’t have the balls. Heh!”
There were a total of seven of them along with Night Spirit and there were demons and humans. Everything would definitely be a mess if they judged purely based on age.
“What do you have in mind? Hurry and spit it out!” Qing Qing extended her legs and kicked the spirit tiger again.
The spirit tiger was not frustrated. Instead, it said joyfully with a slight excitement, “Su Zimo is the reason why we’re all here today. He’s the only one suitable to be the big brother. Furthermore, it’s undeniable that he’s the strongest.”
Everyone nodded.
Monkey had no objections either.
He had a prideful nature and he wouldn’t object to Su Zimo being the only one that was ranked before him.
Su Zimo smiled calmly without interrupting and merely listened to how the spirit tiger wanted things to be arranged.
Invigorated, the spirit tiger wagged its tail and smiled in a pandering manner to monkey. “Only Brother Monkey has the right to be second!”
“Firstly, Brother Monkey knew our Big Brother the earliest and is the most experienced. Secondly, apart from Big Brother, Brother Monkey is the strongest in combat.”
Monkey was satisfied with the explanation and grinned.
Qing Qing, little fox and the Golden Lion naturally had no objections.
Actually, the spirit tiger wanted to be the second place as well.
However, he was most likely going to be tormented back and forth by monkey if he took over that position. As such, he decided against it.
The spirit tiger took a deep breath and cleared his throat, saying deeply with a solemn expression, “I guess Hu Batian will have to be the third!”
“I knew Big Brother a long time ago and I’m strong as well!”
The spirit tiger patted his chest and declared with gusto.
This was his true intention.
With this position settled, he could openly bully everyone at the back in the future!
Of course, he could not bully Qing Qing.
Little fox was protected by Su Zimo so he could not touch her as well.
There was Night Spirit but... he had better forget about that.
With that, there was only Golden Hair left.
In the past few days, given the violent objection of the Golden Lion, he finally fought for a slightly better name for himself, from Yellow Hair to Golden Hair...
At least with the ‘Golden’ word, he would not be disgracing the bloodline of the Golden Lions.
The spirit tiger glared at the Golden Lion and snickered evilly.
With that arrangement, Qing Qing would logically be number four.
There was not much to discuss about the first four spots.
However, the Golden Lion was pretty done by the time it came to number five.
According to the spirit tiger’s arrangement, Night Spirit would be number five.
After all, Night Spirit was the first to know Su Zimo after monkey, the spirit tiger and Qing Qing.
However, the Golden Lion did not know who Night Spirit was at all!
He was definitely indignant being ranked behind a little beast that he had never seen before.
Yet, immediately after, he was suppressed mercilessly by monkey, the spirit tiger and Qing Qing.
His objections were to no avail!
Little fox was number six.
The Golden Lion hid in a corner with misty eyes, a few slaps on his face and a few footprints on his body. He had a gloomy look on his face and no longer spoke...
The spirit tiger laughed when he looked at the Golden Lion. “Golden Hair, are you happy to be number seven?”
The Golden Lion seethed at the smug look on the spirit tiger’s face.
Monkey teased, “It’s okay, Golden Hair. If we have anyone else joining us in the future, they will be placed behind you.”
“Brother Golden Hair, although I’m in front of you, I’m not going to bully you!” Little fox said with an earnest expression.
The Golden Lion wanted to cry.
To be fair, he truly could not afford to mess with the people before him.
Although little fox was the weakest, she was protected by Su Zimo.
There was only a single person he was indignant about the more he thought about it.
“I don’t know who this Night Spirit is but you better stay away from me! Otherwise, I’m going to teach you a good lesson so that you hand over the number five position, little thing!”
“How dare a nameless little beast climb over my head. Hmph!”
The Golden Lion rubbed his palms and grumbled internally.
[1] GreenChapter 676: Ancestor Cave Abode
Among the seven of them, apart from Su Zimo, the rest of them were demons with easygoing attitudes – there was no need for any messy formal ceremonies.
After the suggestion, everyone used the ground as a replacement for incense and kowtowed towards the skies – that action alone sealed the oath of their swear.
Thereafter, everyone became closer and Qing Qing’s mood improved as well.
The spirit tiger followed behind Qing Qing everyday, pandering with his butt twerking.
There was naturally much joy in their journey with the presence of the spirit tiger.
This day, they arrived at a vast plains.
Su Zimo’s expression changed as he paused in his tracks and listened.
Among the seven of them, his five senses were the strongest – a whole different level above the other six.
He was always the first to notice if something was wrong.
“First, what’s wrong?”
The Golden Lion asked.
Su Zimo said deeply, “There’s quite a bit of commotion in the East, so there should be quite a lot of people there. It’s not just cultivators, there’s also the faint roars of demon beasts!”
Suddenly, the ground quaked gently.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
A series of movements sounded faintly from the East, as though someone was beating the heavenly drums.
The next moment, a bedazzling light surged into the air and illuminated the world!
A treasure was born!
The reason why the major sects and factions of Tianhuang Mainland were willing to give it their all to send cultivators to the ancient battlefield was because there were many cave abodes here that were left behind by ancestors!
There were also a few inheritance grounds, many ancient secret grounds and countless tombs with endless mysterious treasures in them!
If anyone could obtain some of the secret skills or mystic weapons, they had a chance of turning extremely powerful overnight!
Even if they did not need it themselves, they could present it to their sects in exchange for fabulous rewards.
Some factions and sects could even rise because of a single opportunity, establishing their foundation and transforming into a powerful major faction from a nameless small sect!
In fact, there was even a chance that they could instantly be ranked among one of the 108 Upper Sects!
Su Zimo narrowed his gaze and whispered, “Let’s go and check things out!”
With that, he sped over in a flash.
Monkey and the others followed closely behind.
Not long after, Su Zimo gradually slowed down and gazed into the distance.
Not far ahead, there was a towering mountain peak that extended into the clouds.
Around the mountain peak were many cultivators.
There were also countless roars of demon beasts above and below the mountain peak.
A massive conflict had broken out between cultivators and demons!
Spirit energy surged in midair, releasing beams of light with scorching heatwaves.
Countless ancient trees were cut with sand flying everywhere.
Nobody knew how long the battle had been ongoing but the sight was tragic with the mountain peak drenched in blood!
Su Zimo could clearly see that there was something strange about the mountain peak. It was split from the middle, as though a pair of invisible hands had ripped it apart!
However, in the middle of the mountain peak, instead of mountains and rocks, there was a gigantic palace that did not seem like it was man-made – it was like a work of god!
The palace was riddled with holes but within, there were ancient weapons laid out one after another.
There were also many elixirs and a few ancient books that were filled with dust!
Su Zimo whispered, “This is the birth of an ancestor cave abode and two major factions are fighting within for the treasures!”
“The fight is too chaotic, there’s no way to see what’s within,”
Monkey frowned. “If we barge in right now, we’ll definitely be targeted.”
Little fox shifted her gaze and glanced around. “There must be quite a number of cultivators and ferocious beasts waiting by the sidelines for an opportunity to strike!”
“Let’s wait a while more to see if there’s any treasures worth us making a move for. We shouldn’t get involved in this mess.”
Su Zimo had a calm expression.
The simple did not seem simple given how secretive it was located in the middle of a mountain peak.
However, Su Zimo was not in a rush.
It won’t be too late even if he struck when a great treasure truly appeared!
Boom!
A human paragon released a Golden Core phenomenon and clashed against a few ferocious beasts. The resultant force spread outwards and even the entire palace trembled.
Many weapons were caught up in the energy fluctuation and scattered in midair.
The eyes of the human paragon shone as he grabbed one of the swords and injected spirit energy into it. The sword shone brightly with five spirit patterns!
A perfect spirit weapon!
“Slash!”
The human paragon shouted and waved the sword.
A bedazzling sword light streaked through the air with rainbow colors, slicing the ferocious beasts on the other end into two, creating a blood mist.
“Haha, good sword!”
The human paragon was delighted.
His strength had increased significantly after gaining the sword and it meant that he would stand a greater chance at obtaining a spot on the Phenomenon Ranking!
Many other cultivators moved as well to snatch the weapons that were scattered in midair.
Su Zimo could see clearly that among the weapons, the weakest were at supreme-grade and there were more than 10 perfect-grade ones!
A single palace contained so many treasures!
For most cultivators, gaining a supreme-grade meant an increase in strength.
Gaining a perfect spirit weapon meant their strength would increase ten-fold!
Be it supreme-grade or perfect spirit weapons, none of them attracted Su Zimo any longer.
The greatest goal of his trip this time round was to see if he could get any high-leveled Dharmic weapons!
It was not only for himself, but also monkey and the others.
Although monkey and the others were demons, after they broke through their Inner Cores and formed their Essence Spirits, they would be able to refine Dharmic weapons for themselves as well.
It was best if they could get their hands on a suitable Dharmic weapon before breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Boom!
It was yet another deafening sound.
Another wall in the palace toppled and many weapons that were hung on it bounced.
Those weapons were clearly different from spirit weapons. Even in the void where spirit energy was fluctuating in a berserk manner, they had no reaction at all and their patterns were even more intricate and seemingly divine!
Dharmic weapons!
There were Dharmic weapons in the palace!
“Look, that flying sword has two Dharmic patterns!”
“It’s a middle-grade Dharmic weapon!”
For Golden Cores and the many spirit demons, a single Dharmic weapon was enough to fuel their greed.
It meant that they would get to possess a middle-grade Dharmic weapon the moment they advanced to Nascent Soul realm!
“Ah! Three Dharmic patterns! It’s a superior-grade Dharmic weapon!”
“Attack!”
A series of exclamations came from the crowd.
A scarlet spear hovered in midair with three Dharmic patterns on it!
Boom!
A gigantic demon beast soared into the air. It resembled a tiger but it had a pair of wings behind its back, emitting an endless ferocity with a menacing gaze!
“One of the four great ancient ferocious beasts, Qiong Qi!”
The Golden Lion said slowly with a grim expression.
Even among pure-blooded ferocious beasts, they had varying strength levels.
For example, the legendary four great ancient ferocious beasts were much stronger than other ferocious beasts.
“Pfft!”
The moment the Qiong Qi appeared, it opened its mouth and devoured a cultivator who was supporting a Golden Core phenomenon. Within a few chomps, the latter was crushed and swallowed as blood oozed from the side of the Qiong Qi’s mouth.
It was way too violent – even a Golden Core phenomenon could not withstand it!
“Raging City Blaze!”
A roar sounded from the ground.
A human paragon wearing blazing scarlet robes charged into the battlefield with a gigantic ancient city behind him.
The ancient city blazed with flames that surged into the air and incinerated all living beings.
The moment the ancient city descended, it crushed another pure-blooded ferocious beast into sludge before burning it into ashes.
That was one of the ten upper sects of the North Region, a paragon of Blaze Columbus Valley!
A superior-grade Dharmic weapon had shown itself.
More paragons and ferocious beasts were entering the battlefield!
Chapter 677: Corpse Refinement Cult
“Should we go and fight for it?”
The spirit tiger was raring to go with excitement in his eyes.
“There’s no need to,”
Su Zimo had a calm expression and a glint sparkled in his eyes. “Although superior-grade Dharmic weapons seem good, it’s not worth us taking the risk to enter this mess.”
In the ancient battlefield, even for Dharmic weapons that once belonged to Dao Lords or Mighty Figures, their Dharmic powers had long dissipated without the refinement of Essence Spirit and the passing of countless years. These weapons had fallen to the grade of Perfected Lord Dharmic weapons a long time ago.
The only difference was that their Dharmic patterns were still around and their grades were unchanged.
Therefore, even if any Dharmic weapons appeared, they were mostly for Perfected Lords.
“Go, let’s leave this place first!”
Su Zimo waved and prepared to leave with monkey and the others.
“You want to leave after coming here?”
A gigantic ferocious bird spread its wings and covered the skies with a torrential demonic aura. Its gaze was sharp as it glared down, diving towards little fox with its outstretched talons.
Foxes were natural-born seductresses.
Unless they had a strong backing, countless demon beasts would fight for them the moment they appeared!
“Hmm?”
Qing Qing raised her brows with a hint of displeasure. Without even transforming, she leaped into the air and crossed her legs, kicking a series of shadows into the air.
Her thighs were like guillotines, letting out the sound of air slicing.
Qing Qing was already rather beautiful in her human form. Coupled with her slender and tall figure, she was like a graceful dragon dancing in the air!
Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!
On the ground, the spirit tiger watched with a gaping mouth, drooling constantly. His gaze was dazed and he remarked squarely, “Her legs seem like they can spread apart right beneath her belly button...”
Piak!
Monkey sent the spirit tiger with a single slap.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Qing Qing avoided the talons of the ferocious bird and pummeled it furiously on the head, causing it to explode!
Croak! Croak!
A Golden Toad the size of a mountain squatted at the side with widened eyes, puffing its cheeks and letting out a strange sound that grew louder and louder.
It was as though thunder had just rumbled!
All of a sudden!
The Golden Toad opened its mouth!
A blood beam flashed and wrapped around little fox.
It was the tongue of the Golden Toad race!
It was so fast that it could not be seen clearly.
This was the strongest killing move of the Golden Toad that it used mainly to capture other demon beasts for food. Most demon beasts were devoured by the Golden Toad before they could react.
Although little fox was unable to defend against this, there was no trace of fear or panic in her eyes.
Any single one of the few figures around her was enough to kill the Golden Toad!
Piak!
Just as the blood tongue was about to make contact with little fox’s body, a hairy palm appeared and grabbed the Golden Toad’s tongue!
Monkey’s eyes flashed with a scarlet glow as he glared at the Golden Toad not far away and grinned.
Shing!
Exerting strength in both arms, monkey ripped the blood tongue off with blood spraying everywhere.
Boom!
Immediately after, monkey’s legs landed on the ground and his body expanded. He arrived before the Golden Toad in a stride and swung his massive fist down towards the latter!
The Golden Toad retracted its severed tongue and its mouth was filled with fresh blood as hatred surged through its eyes. Suddenly, blood bubbles the size of fists appeared on its body, enlarging by the second!
Snap!
Su Zimo pointed gently and a divine thunderbolt struck down onto the Golden Toad’s head.
The Golden Toad shuddered and all the blood bubbles that appeared burst immediately with fuming smoke – the poison in its blood was cleansed by the power of thunder instantly!
Bang!
Monkey’s fist crushed heavily on the Golden Toad’s head, killing that ferocious beast instantly!
More demon beasts charged towards them.
Su Zimo raised his brow slightly. “Follow me. We’ll leave this place first.”
Before his words were finished, Su Zimo retrieved Blood Quencher from his storage bag and his blood qi surged. Slashing his way through, he created a bloodied path in the pack of beasts.
When they arrived at the outer perimeter, Su Zimo’s group turned back.
More and more demon beasts and cultivators were arriving in the vicinity of the mountain peak and all of them were bloodthirsty in the fight for the treasures.
This was the ancient battlefield.
It was a place where opportunities and dangers coexisted!
“Let’s look elsewhere. There seems to be something else that’s odd around this area.”
Su Zimo circulated his universal hearing and after a moment, pointed in a direction before speeding over with everyone.
Not long after, the group of them stopped.
There was a swamp ahead of them where another palace stood with many elixirs and weapons hovering in midair.
Many cultivators from various factions and sects were fighting to the death with demon beasts in midair for the weapons and elixirs.
The swamp was dyed red with blood!
Many corpses fell from midair into the swamp, sinking slowly before vanishing.
Su Zimo focused his gaze.
There were many weapons in midair and some of them were Dharmic weapons. However, the best among them only had three Dharmic patterns – they were superior-grade Dharmic weapons.
For most cultivators, it was worth fighting for superior-grade Dharmic weapons.
However, after a moment of hesitation, Su Zimo decided against it. “Let’s go!”
There was naturally no way monkey and the others would object.
The group of them continued.
Not long after, they caught sight of another cave abode appearing and another group of sects and factions fighting for the treasures left behind.
After watching by the sidelines for a moment, Su Zimo shook his head and left with monkey and the others.
For the next day, the group of them traveled in twists and turns. In that area, more than 10 cave abodes appeared with various factions and sects fighting for them!
Among them, they even caught sight of disciples from super sects!
“Weird.”
Su Zimo furrowed his brows slightly.
He did not know what happened but it seemed like many cave abodes that were hidden in that area had appeared all of a sudden.
The group of them continued and once again, the sound of a fight accompanied by the roars of demon beasts and screeches of ferocious birds could be heard ahead – it was extremely noisy.
Yet another cave abode!
The Golden Lion’s gaze shimmered and he murmured, “The rod that those guys are fighting for seems to be a supreme-grade Dharmic weapon with four Dharmic patterns!”
In midair, two groups of cultivators were fighting for it.
One party only had two cultivators.
The other side had dozens of cultivators, all of whom had frightfully pale faces with an extremely Yin aura around them. Their lips were purplish-green and they resembled malevolent ghosts from Hell.
The cultivators stood motionlessly on the ground, wielding long rods in their hands as they controlled dozens of ghastly corpses on the other side!
Every single corpse emitted a thick, rotting smell and shone with a metallic luster all over their bodies. They were invulnerable, as though they were refined with something unknown.
Their fingernails were long and looked like sharp daggers that shimmered with a faint green glow – all of them were laced with poison!
It was one of the five heretical doctrines – Corpse Refinement Cult!
The corpses were battle corpses specially refined by Corpse Refinement Cult. Invulnerable against weapons with immense strength and toxic poison in their bodies, they were extremely frightening and troublesome to deal with!
The dozens of corpses surrounded the two people in their midst and attacked wildly.
Chapter 678: Underworld Emperor Phenomenon
Of the two of them, one of them was rotund and short, like an airbag.
The other one had a buzz cut and looked square and honest, like a country bumpkin.
The honest cultivator wielded a thin, iron rod in his left hand that was etched with complex and intricate patterns. Thin threads that were almost invisible extended from the fingertips of his right hand.
He was gathering qi like threads!
That was the secret skill of one of the five heretical doctrines, Puppet Sect.
By condensing the spirit qi in their dantians into threads to wrap around the puppets they refined, they could control their puppets from a distance to fight against their enemies.
The honest cultivator was controlling five different puppets!
One of them was extremely heavy and shone with a metallic luster. Every single step it took created a deep footprint in the ground.
Every single move it made was heavy and firm!
Another puppet’s body that was made with an unknown material was almost transparent. It was fluid like water and seemed weak.
When the puppet’s body was penetrated by a battle corpse, its muscles twitched and covered the wound swiftly.
Another puppet was scarlet and blazed with flames all over. Every single move it made carried a scorching heatwave that turned the surroundings dry.
The honest cultivator was dividing his attention to cultivate five corpses of the five elements, creating a formation that increased his combat strength!
“Amazing!”
The Golden Lion praised.
Although their group consisted mostly of demons, they had fought with many cultivators and naturally knew how to judge the combat strength of cultivators.
However, although the honest cultivator was strong and could control five puppets, he could not defend against the wild attacks of dozens of battle corpses!
It was thanks to the Golden Core phenomenon released by the fatty that the two of them were able to survive till now.
It was a pale yellow river current that was huge with countless ripples. It emitted an endless Yin aura that seemed like it could wash away all the sins in the world!
Many corpses floated in the yellow river.
“Oo, Oo!”
It was as though countless ghosts were screaming.
Menacing faces appeared one after another in the river!
The Golden Core phenomenon surrounded and protected the two of them in the middle, creating waves to defend against the charging battle corpses.
The battle corpses seemed wary towards the yellow river.
Each time water from the yellow river splashed onto the battle corpses, green smoke would fume along with a sizzling sound.
As though they were sentient, the battle corpses would yelp and retreat, hopping on the spot.
Their horrifying greenish-black eyes bulged slightly, bloodshot and filled with fright.
“What is this?”
Little fox shuddered.
The sight of the yellow river gave her chills.
If Su Zimo and the others were not standing in front of her, she would have escaped in fright a long time ago!
“That’s one of the ancient phenomenons, Yellow Springs[1]!”
Su Zimo said slowly, “In the era where ancient emperors rose one after another, the Underworld Emperor mustered his courage with great conviction to purge his own soul and take a walk around death’s gates. He witnessed the Yellow Springs personally and was inspired to create that Golden Core phenomenon!”
“It’s said that there’s a dragon vein[2] hidden in the depths of the Yellow Springs and it’s extremely powerful! With that, the Underworld Emperor created a peerless mystic classic, the Astounding Dragon Sutra and it’s the number one mystic classic for locating acupoints!”
“Eh?”
Qing Qing raised her brow slightly with a contemplative expression before murmuring, “That fatty looks familiar.”
Although there was a putrid haze that affected one’s vision all over the place, Qing Qing noticed something amiss after looking for a moment.
“It’s Little Fatty from Ethereal Peak!”
Qing Qing exclaimed.
After more than 20 years, Little Fatty had matured significantly and his features had changed slightly as well. However, his countenance remained the same.
“That’s right, it’s him,”
Su Zimo nodded. “The other cultivator is also an old friend. He was originally a cultivator of Southern Mountains Sect, Shi Jian. Do you guys recognize him?”
The legacy left behind by the Underworld Emperor in Tianhuang Mainland was one of five current heretical doctrines – Tomb Sect!
In the elementary ancient battlefield, Little Fatty was taken away by Tomb Sect.
Shi Jian on the other hand joined another of the five heretical doctrines – Puppet Sect.
...
“Fatty, I’m sorry for burdening you.”
Shi Jian’s face was pale and he was sweating on the forehead – it was evident that his spirit energy was exhausted and he could not carry on.
While he gained powerful combat strength controlling five puppets, the toll on one’s spirit energy was also increased by multitudes!
“What are you saying that for? Hold on and don’t get distracted! We’ll definitely be able to get out!”
Little Fatty’s chubby palm trembled as he controlled the water of Yellow Springs, creating waves that defended the rush of the battle corpses.
Although he said that, Little Fatty’s Yellow Springs phenomenon was also showing signs of exhaustion with diminished power – it had become unstable against the continuous rush of the battle corpses!
As he defended against the battle corpses outside, Little Fatty said, “Do you know why I looked to you for help this time round?”
“Why?”
Shi Jian asked.
“Because you’re stupid!”
Even at this moment, Little Fatty was optimistic and said cheerily, “As the saying goes, the dumb are favored by fortune. Since you’re so stupid, you definitely have a good, long life! The reason why I looked to you for help was because I wanted a little bit of that fortune!”
“You’re still in the mood for idle chat?”
A Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator slapped his storage bag with a cold expression, waving his hand to splash a pale-yellow powder on the battle corpses.
Little Fatty took a sniff and exclaimed in shock, “Corpse Berserk Powder!”
Before his words were finished, the battle corpses that were covered by the pale-yellow powder roared in a deep, resounding manner!
The battle corpse grew and the clothes they were wearing exploded, revealing thick green veins on their body, neck and face.
They slithered around the skin like small snakes and looked menacing!
As they roared, the battle corpses emitted a foul stench from their mouth and two pairs of sharp fangs grew from their upper and lower jaws. They were stained with blood and looked extremely unsettling!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The strength of the battle corpses grew significantly and they no longer feared the power of Yellow Springs, as though they had gone berserk. They charged towards Little Fatty’s Golden Core phenomenon continuously, causing it to quake violently.
Instantly, the Yellow Springs phenomenon quivered.
Even the Yellow Springs itself seemed to have calmed down!
Lone souls, hungry ghosts and the corpses of fiendcelestials were contained in Yellow Springs!
But now, Yellow Springs seemed to have been suppressed by the dozens of battle corpses that were standing in it as they roared into the air with a torrential ferocity!
A wrathful look flashed through Little Fatty’s eyes.
If the Underworld Emperor knew that the Yellow Springs phenomenon had fallen to this point with its corpses within suppressed, he would definitely explode in rage.
Right then, a voice sounded. Although it was neither loud nor soft, it overwhelmed the roars of the battle corpses and spread to every single corner of the battlefield!
“How dare a bunch of evildoers behave so audaciously in the ancient battlefield where countless emperors have perished!”
Little Fatty shuddered when he heard that voice and his bead-like eyes widened with disbelief.
Shi Jian panted but a curious expression appeared on his face as well.
That voice sounded familiar.
“It’s Boss!”
Little fatty could not help but exclaim.
“Boss?”
Shi Jian stoned for a moment before asking, “Brother Su of Ethereal Peak?”
“That’s right! I can’t be wrong!”
Little Fatty supported his Yellow Springs phenomenon and leaped, looking outward frantically as he waved with an excited look on his face. “Boss, I’m here! Hurry and come save me!”
[1] Hell
[2] Territory that resembles a dragon’s vein
Chapter 679: Suppressing Corpses
“Who is the tactless one trying to meddle in the affairs of the Corpse Refinement Cult!”
The leader of the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators glared at Su Zimo’s incoming group. His eyes were unblinking, resembling those of dead fishes, and his voice was sinister and murderous.
Another person said coldly, “Beasts, you had better scram far away. Otherwise...”
“Hehe, given Corpse Refinement Cult’s supreme mystic classic, we can easily turn you guys into battle corpses and let you suffer a fate worse than death!”
“Is that so?”
Su Zimo raised his brow slightly. Nobody saw what he did but in a flash, he bolted into the Corpse Refinement Cult group like an arrow.
It was too fast!
The distance between both parties was not far to begin with.
Su Zimo’s Inner Core and Golden Core were at perfected realm. When he circulated both cores together with his demonic and spirit energy alongside the power of his blood qi...
Even pure-blooded ferocious beasts with sharp, keen senses and powerful bodies wouldn’t be able to react to that burst speed, let alone the cultivators of Corpse Refinement Cult!
Poof! Poof! Poof!
There was no technique or spirit art.
He barged in purely with his body!
Right in front of everyone, the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators that stood in Su Zimo’s way were rammed into pieces with blood spewing everywhere, like gigantic watermelons!
He was a human weapon!
Nobody could withstand his might as he charged his way through the crowd!
Seven Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators were sneering a moment earlier. Immediately after, they were rammed to death without even understanding how they died!
A Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator reacted to it and defended instinctively by propping his Chaos Essence Iron Rod in front of him.
Unexpectedly, a black shadow darted over.
Snap!
The iron rod in his hands was snapped into two.
The middle portion where it was snapped thrust into his chest like a spear, penetrating it completely!
Another Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator yelled and withdrew a shimmering silver shield from his storage bag before injecting spirit energy into it furiously.
Instantly, a bright beam shone.
The shield expanded with the wind like a silver mountain peak that guarded the man behind it. It shone with five spirit lights and was bedazzling!
It was a perfect-grade defensive spirit weapon!
In the cultivation world of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a perfect spirit weapon would cause quite a huge stir.
However, Su Zimo’s expression did not change – in fact, there were no emotions in his eyes.
He had seen too many of such weapons!
Right now, he had dozens of perfect spirit weapons in his storage bag alone!
Su Zimo’s speed did not slow down as his body rose gently. With a cold gaze, he strode forward and stomped down furiously on that gigantic silver shield!
Plow Heaven Stride!
A torrential force surged forward from Su Zimo’s body.
Even if he was facing the heavens, he could plow a massive ravine beneath his feet, let alone a single mountain.
Boom!
The glowing silver shield was stomped beneath Su Zimo’s feet!
The Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator that hid behind the shield was stomped into sludge despite the shield standing between him and Su Zimo without even making a peep of sound.
Su Zimo’s execution of the many killing moves in the Mystic Classic of the Twelve Demon Kings of the Great Wilderness was getting more fluid.
As his demonic cultivation deepened, the power of those killing moves became even more frightening as well!
The crowd was in an uproar.
Not far away, many cultivators were prepared to join the fight. However, all of them stopped instinctively with dumbstruck expressions when they witnessed this.
It was way too ferocious!
In the blink of an eye, nine Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators died in the hands of this green-robed cultivator!
The scary thing was that the nine of them were completely helpless against him!
“Who is he? What’s his background?”
“I don’t know. The ancient battlefield is indeed a place where paragons roam and monster incarnates are everywhere. It’s too scary!”
“That’s right, notwithstanding the legacy disciples of the various super sects, I heard that a monster incarnate unlike anything history has ever seen appeared in the North Region.”
“I heard of him as well! I heard that he sowed a grudge with Glass Palace and actually managed to murder all their cultivators that have arrived in the ancient battlefield!”
“Man, that’s savage!”
The discussions were loud and fervent.
On the battlefield.
The remaining Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators were shocked and retreated hurriedly along with the battle corpses that they were controlling not far away.
Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators were almost completely reliant on their battle corpses for strength.
Without the protection of their battle corpses, they were extremely weak physically and their actual strength was not much different from ordinary cultivators.
The leader of the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators said coldly, “You truly have a death wish. Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators spend their days with corpses as their companions and their bodies are filled with poison as well. You won’t be able to escape death after crushing their bodies!”
“That’s right!”
Another Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator sneered, “Beast, have you realized that the blood qi in your body is starting to deteriorate? Hehe!”
“Hahahaha!”
Su Zimo reared his head in laughter loudly. The blood qi in his body surged with the mighty sound of a tsunami!
He did not seem like he was poisoned at all!
His bloodline was like a cauldron blazing with flames.
It could incinerate, evaporate and cleanse everything!
Even the poison of Poison Sect might not be a threat to him, let alone the poison from corpses.
“You... ”
The faces of the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators turned pale as a sheet.
A tall and mighty shadow charged in front of them, whirling two fists like hammers and barging left and right in the crowd.
There was no way the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators could withstand the iron fists of monkey.
One after another, figures were sent flying.
By the time they landed on the ground, they were corpses without any life in them.
An evil gust of wind blew past!
A ferocious tiger with rumbling malevolent qi lunged down from above the lion, ripping the body of a Corpse Refinement Cult cultivator apart by the stomach as though it was extremely hungry!
The moment the poison of the corpse made contact with the fur of the spirit tiger, it was cleansed into emptiness by an electric current.
“Roar!”
A Golden Lion with a dignified might charged into the crowd and let out a deafening roar!
The few Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators closest to it started bleeding from the eyes, nose, ears and mouth.
They were bleeding from all orifices!
The brains of those cultivators were shook into sludge!
Qing Qing and little fox did not head up.
The two of them definitely wanted nothing more than to get far away from those eerie cultivators with the stench of rotting corpses.
Even so, it took slightly more than 10 breaths for Su Zimo, monkey, the spirit tiger and Golden Lion to decimate the dozens of Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators entirely!
Everything ended before the dozens of battle corpses that surrounded Little Fatty and Shi Jian could retreat to help.
In truth, Corpse Refinement Cult cultivation worlds were extremely troublesome to deal with in the cultivation world.
Unless there was a need to, disciples of various super sects would not want to provoke them intentionally.
The battle corpses they had were invulnerable to fire, water and were extremely strong such that they could take on perfect or even connate spirit weapons head-on!
Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators were almost impossible to defeat with a battle corpse standing before them!
However, the weakness of Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators was evident as well.
The moment they fall, their battle corpses would not be controlled and were no longer any threat.
By understanding that weakness, Su Zimo and the others did not give the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators any breathing room and slaughtered the group of them with a thunderous might in slightly more than 10 breaths!
The dozens of battle corpses fell forward stiffly, turning into true corpses.
Chapter 680: Distraction
Little Fatty had just consumed a few elixirs and was panting. Before he could calm down, he saw that the Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators were already slain completely!
His eyes widened and his jaws almost dropped to the ground.
“The rumors are not lying, Brother Su is still ferocious as ever.”
Shi Jian gulped and muttered his thoughts.
“Bro, I’m glad you’re here! I’ve missed you to death!”
Little Fatty’s character had not changed as he scurried over like a gigantic meatball. He lunged into Su Zimo’s embrace emotionally with tears and snot.
Peeling that fat face away, Su Zimo scolded with a chuckle, “Stop acting.”
Shi Jian came over as well and smiled at Su Zimo with cupped fists. “Much thanks, Brother Su.”
“What’s with the politeness after not meeting each other for 20 years?”
Su Zimo laughed with a relaxed expression.
Back in Xuantian City in the elementary ancient battlefield, he welcomed the Four Mounted Bandits singlehandedly. However, Little Fatty, Ji Chengtian, Little Fatty and Shi Jian were extremely bold and returned to fight with him!
They were brothers who had gone through thick and thin!
Little Fatty laughed. “Silly Jian is foolish as always, you can just ignore him, Boss.”
The three of them had reunited after a long time and words could not describe Little Fatty’s joy.
Shi Jian did not have much to say and merely chuckled foolishly the entire time.
Although Su Zimo seemed composed, he was smiling a lot more than usual as well.
“Thank you for your help, fellow brothers of the demon race,”
Little Fatty chuckled and greeted monkey and the others with cupped fists.
He got along with people easily to begin with. Furthermore, he already knew monkey and the spirit tiger from back in Ethereal Peak.
“Boss, I’ve heard from Silly Jian about everything in the North Region,”
Little Fatty consoled, “Don’t worry, follow me back to my sect this time round. I’ll persuade my master to take you in. Although Tomb Sect’s legacy is not strong, we’ve lasted through history and have some foundation as well!”
“Furthermore, Tomb Sect is the best at being secretive. There’s no way outsiders know about where we’re located!”
Almost the entire North Region knew about Su Zimo’s feud with Glass Palace.
Ordinary cultivators would want nothing more than to get far away from Su Zimo in fear of being implicated.
However, Little Fatty had no such considerations at all. Instead, he was thinking up ideas and solutions for Su Zimo.
Su Zimo patted Little Fatty on the shoulder gratefully.
Although it sounded like a possible idea, it was not practical.
Little Fatty was a Golden Core. Even if he was a legacy disciple, his words would not carry much weight in the sect.
Most sects would definitely not want to go against a super sect such as Glass Palace just for someone like him – the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.
Furthermore, although Tomb Sect was one of the five heretical doctrines, it was well known that they had few disciples – there was no way they could go against Glass Palace.
“Brother Su, I-I could head back and explain things to Puppet Sect as well...”
Shi Jian mustered his courage and wanted to help Su Zimo with his troubles as well.
Su Zimo waved it off with a smile and diverted the topic. “It’s fine, we can talk about this next time. Right, how did you guys end up fighting against Corpse Refinement Cult cultivators?”
Shi Jian gripped his fists and said hatefully, “Puppet Sect and Corpse Refinement Cult have a deep enmity to begin with. There’s naturally no way they would let me off the moment they saw me.”
“Oh?”
Su Zimo raised his brow.
In Tianhuang Mainland, among the nine immortal sects, seven fiend sects, six Buddhist monasteries, five heretical doctrines and fouur unorthodox groups... there were truly deep-rooted enmity between some super sects that went a long way back!
For example, Heavenly Dipper Sect of the immortal sects and Malevolent Earth Sect of the fiend sects were long enemies.
There were also similar conflicts between immortal sects.
Glass Palace had an extremely poor relationship with Snowdrift Valley of the Middle Continent.
Shi Jian continued, “Originally, there weren’t five heretical doctrines. Corpse Refinement Cult was established by a traitor of Puppet Sect!”
“He was the most talented cultivator in Puppet Sect and even had the potential of becoming an emperor if he continued cultivating! However, he ended up veering onto the wrong path and focused entirely on corpses.”
“In order to refine corpses, he became addicted to killing and sinned endlessly, cultivating himself to the point where he resembled neither human nor ghost. Eventually, he incurred the wrath of the sect.”
Everyone was immersed as Shi Jian recounted the history of Puppet Sect.
When Shi Jian paused briefly, little fox could not help but ask, “What happened after?”
Shi Jian let out a deep breath. “An expert of a sect took pity on his potential and could not bear to see him cripple his cultivation just like that. That person tried to persuade him to repent countless times but was eventually killed by him instead!”
“Sigh, he was truly powerful. He managed to escape even against the combined attack of experts from many sects!”
“Although a patriarch of the sect eventually moved in, that person had already established himself and forged an alliance with one of the other heretical doctrines, Poison Sect. Even if we gave it our all to kill him, Puppet Sect would suffer immense losses and even face possible annihilation!”
“Left with no other choice, we could only allow him to leave. Not long after, he created Corpse Refinement Cult in Tianhuang Mainland and as it grew stronger, it became one of the five heretical doctrines.”
“No wonder.”
At that point, realization flashed through Su Zimo’s eyes. “Earlier on, I noticed that the technique Corpse Refinement Cult used to refine their battle corpses was similar to the technique of Puppet Sect. The only difference was that one was evil and the other righteous. So, they had the same background.”
“Unfortunately, although our backgrounds are the same, the situation between us is now irreconcilable,” Shi Jian said.
Little Fatty shifted his beady eyes and surveyed the surroundings. When he saw that more cultivators were gathering, he whispered, “Let’s leave first. This is not a good place to linger further!”
“Yes,”
Su Zimo nodded. “You guys leave first. I’ll go get my hands on that iron rod!”
Although the fight between them and Corpse Refinement Cult had subsided, more cultivators had been attracted over due to the commotion.
Right now, many cultivators and demon beasts were already fighting and it was all for that supreme-grade Dharmic weapon with four Dharmic patterns in midair!
Su Zimo had his eyes set on that object as well.
They traveled for an entire day past more than 10 cave abodes but this was the highest graded Dharmic weapon.
“No, don’t go!”
Little Fatty held back Su Zimo by the arm and whispered, “There’s no need for us to fight for that scrap metal. Let’s head somewhere else!”
“Ah?
Su Zimo froze for a moment.
Wasn’t his tone way too arrogant?
A supreme-grade Dharmic weapon was considered as scrap metal in the eyes of Little Fatty?
Little Fatty said in a mysterious manner, “Follow me, I’ll take you guys elsewhere!”
“What?”
Su Zimo could not help but ask.
Little Fatty asked instead, “How many cave abodes have you seen appear today?”
Su Zimo replied, “More than 10.”
“Yes,”
Little Fatty was not surprised. “Based on my deductions, more than 10 more of such cave abodes are going to appear!”
“So many?”
Su Zimo was surprised and asked with a frown, “Why are so many cave abodes appearing all of a sudden? Did something happen to this place?”
“Sort of.”
Little Fatty retracted his smile in a rare manner and said darkly, “There’s a huge tomb beneath this place where the true treasures lie!”
“These cave abodes are nothing but a distraction left behind by the tomb master!”
Chapter 681: Mighty Figure of Tomb Sect
Su Zimo was surprised when he heard that.
How extravagant!
This legendary master of the tomb was willing to painstakingly set up dozens of diversionary cave abodes so as to hide his treasures and legacy!
More than that, the diversionary tombs contained quite a number of treasures that caused countless cultivators and demons to fight for it, leaving corpses in their wake!
Su Zimo deduced, “I’m sure the identity of the tomb master is far from simple if he has this many treasures.”
“The tomb master is a Conjoint Body Mighty Figure!” Little Fatty said with conviction.
“No wonder.”
Su Zimo nodded.
A Conjoint Body Mighty Figure was probably the only one who had the capability to disregard spirit and Dharmic weapons, planting them in diversionary tombs to confuse outsiders.
After hesitating for a moment, Little Fatty decided on revealing the truth, “This Mighty Figure was even the titular disciple of Tomb Sect in the past!”
“Ah!”
Su Zimo was alarmed.
The old monk in the old temple had once warned him that apart from legacy disciples, the strongest successors of the super sects were the titular disciples!
Furthermore, there could only be a single titular disciple!
They were the elites among the legacy disciples of the sect.
In order to become the titular disciple of a sect, one has to defeat all the other paragons.
In the fiend sects, that was a path that was paved with fresh blood and corpses!
A single person’s success came from the corpses of many others!
A titular disciple was a peerless paragon!
Titular disciples were the faces of the super sects and ruled over the world. Their statuses in the sects were extraordinary and they could command all the disciples in the sect.
In fact, their status was even greater than most of the elders in the sect!
At this point of his cultivation, Su Zimo had only encountered a true titular disciple – the Asura, Yan Beichen!
Upon recollection of Yan Beichen’s methods in the battle at Ethereal Peak, it was obvious how strong titular disciples were.
In that generation, Yan Beichen was even the number one of the Golden Core Phenomenon Ranking!
As a titular disciple of Tomb Sect in the past, this Mighty Figure must have been a glorious and peerless elite who roamed Tianhuang Mainland in the past and looked down on the rest of the world.
Little Fatty lamented, “Unfortunately, this senior was unable to advance to the Mahayana realm and was eventually buried here.”
The Mahayana realm came after the Conjoint Body realm!
For humans, there was an ancient saying – one is unable to comprehend divine powers until they enter the Mahayana realm.
In other words, as long as one advanced to the Mahayana realm, they could comprehend divine powers.
Dharmic powers were boundless but divine powers were vast.
Even for Conjoint Body Mighty Figures, they were not free from the shackles of Heaven and Earth and still had to utilize Dharmic powers and arts.
However, Dharmic powers were no match for divine powers!
In the cultivation world, spirit energy was weaker than Dharmic powers and Dharmic powers were weaker than divine powers.
What were divine powers?
They were incredible and beyond imagination!
These were abilities to reach the firmaments that were beyond godly!
Divine powers came after one broke free of the shackles of Heaven and Earth and were at an even more terrifying level!
In the old temple, there was a saying in one of the ancient books describing the means of a Mahayana Patriarch – Mahayana was indestructible and could be reborn through a drop of blood!
This meant that experts of the Mahayana were almost completely indestructible!
Even if their bodies were destroyed and their limbs were snapped, a single drop of blood would suffice for them to recover to their original selves!
Those methods were truly unimaginable and sought after by many.
Only at that cultivation realm can one be barely worthy of the title ‘immortal’.
With a deeper understanding of the path of cultivation and the cultivation world, Su Zimo could understand what Die Yue said in the past, “What kind of immortals are Qi Refinement Warrior considered as? Even the Golden Core dare not be so impudent to call themselves immortal!”
Even the titular disciple of Tomb Sect could not make the step forward and passed on before the Mahayana realm – it was imaginable how horrifying that realm was.
Little Fatty said, “Boss, I’m not going to hide it from you. The reason why I entered the ancient battlefield this time round was because of a test left for us by our sect.”
“Test?”
Su Zimo raised his brow slightly and asked, “You guys?”
“Yes,”
Little Fatty nodded. “The senior carried with him an utmost treasure of the sect that was lost after he disappeared.”
“That remained the case until dozens of years ago when our sect master beseeched experts of Enigma Palace for help. At that point, they divined roughly that the senior may have passed on and was buried in the intermediate ancient battlefield.”
Su Zimo understood. “So, the test for you by the sect is to locate the tomb and retrieve the utmost treasure?”
“That’s right,”
Little Fatty replied, “This utmost treasure belonged to the Underworld Emperor and is extremely important to the sect. The reason why my Yellow Springs phenomenon isn’t strong is also because of the loss of this utmost treasure.”
“I see,”
Suddenly, Su Zimo was enlightened.
When he saw Little Fatty release the Yellow Springs phenomenon earlier on, he already had the feeling that the true power of the phenomenon was not unleashed completely.
The true Yellow Springs phenomenon could definitely be ranked within the top 20 of the Phenomenon Ranking!
Little Fatty continued, “However, this test wasn’t for me alone. There’s another senior brother of mine. Whoever gets their hands on this utmost treasure of the sect first will be qualified to become the titular disciple of Tomb Sect for this generation!”
Su Zimo realized what was happening.
The test for Little Fatty from Tomb Sect was not only to locate the tomb and the belonging of the Underworld Emperor, but also to do it before someone else!
This test would determine Little Fatty’s future!
Su Zimo asked, “You can receive help from others?”
“Of course!” Little Fatty nodded.
Su Zimo urged, “Let’s not waste time then. Hurry, lead the way.”
Little Fatty wanted to speak but did not; he did not move immediately as well.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Zimo was confused.
With a hesitant expression, Little Fatty said, “That senior brother of mine grew up in Tomb Sect. He even traveled in the Middle Continent once and has deep connections, befriending disciples of super sects. I’m sure he will get some of them to help him for this. Boss, you...”
Little Fatty did not continue but Su Zimo understood.
Little Fatty was worried about him.
He already had a grudge with Glass Palace. If he were to offend another few super sects because of this matter, it would be equivalent to seeking death.
“It’s nothing,”
Su Zimo smiled casually and patted Little Fatty on the shoulder, saying in a leisurely manner, “I’m not afraid, what are you worried about?”
“But...”
Su Zimo interrupted with a laugh. “Don’t forget, if you’re thinking that I might offend them, I’ve already offended all the immortal, Buddhist and fiend sects beneath the Human Emperor’s Palace 20 years ago!”
“Boss...”
Little Fatty’s eyes brimmed with tears emotionally.
After all, he had arrived in Tomb Sect later on.
When they heard that he was going to compete with that senior brother for the utmost treasure, none of his fellow sect mates, including some seniors, stood on his side.
He did not know many people in the cultivation world either.
After entering the ancient battlefield, Little Fatty’s senior brother gave him a savage warning before leaving to seek super sects to back him up.
However, Little Fatty was left all alone and helpless.
It would be a lie to say that Little Fatty hadn’t been suffering all these years.
However, he knew that he could only endure no matter how much he suffered!
The more he could endure, the greater his future accomplishments would be.
Right now, when he heard Su Zimo’s words, Little Fatty’s heart was filled with warmth. He sniffled and mumbled to himself, “I’ve also got my Boss helping me! Leng Ming, we’ll see if you can still bully me now!”
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